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•Your Handspinnina Community

V OL UME XXX

NU M B E R 1

SPRI N G 2006

FEATURES 26344072

84120

Behind the Scenes: At the Merlin Tree by Laura Silverman

Of Sheep and Shipwrecks by Kale Langan

Teaching the Craft by Randy Chelsey

Fiber Basics: Coopworthby Carol H. Rhaades

Handspun Gallery of Shawls

When the Wheel Speaksby Angela Butera Dickson

30 Spinning Basics: PlyingPRO ~CTS Chained Singles by Dadie Rush

HO TO 44 Spinning Sock Yarnsby Merike Saamiit

50 ASpinner's Cast-Onby Rebecca Harmon

54 Park City Ponchoby Carolyn Greenwood

58 AStudy in Zig by Amy Tyler

66 Mother Nature's Footstool•

by Pal Davis

-; 80 Coopworth Lap Rugby CarolH. Rhaades

page 44

DEPARTMENTS

2 Editor's Page 96 Abbreviations and Glossary

4 What's Going On Here? 98 Spinner's Connectionby Marilyn Murphy by Peg Caffey

page 546 As the Whorl Spins 103 Calendarby Amanda Berka

12 112 Product News by Vicki Yast ON THE COVER: Amy Tyler created six scarvesLetters

using energized singles as the unifying design

18 Reviews 113 Classified Ads element, page 58.

90 Your Yarn! Charkha-Spun 119 Advertisers' IndexYarn!

Editor's Page r"u , H'ndspinn inll Cnmm"nil l'

\'OLrr-1E x x xSPRING 2()()fi

While I didn't participate in the KnittingOlympics, I did spin and knit a onesie formy daughter, Hannah . The instructionsare on our website, www.interweave.(omf spinf projecIs_arlieles.asp.

I

CREATIVE SERVICESDESIGNER Jason Reid

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Trish FaubionPRODUCTION COORDINATOR Marc McCoy Owens

PRODUCTlO:-l EDITOR Nancy ArndtPHOTOGRAPHY lac Coca

PIIOTOSTYL!NG & ILLUSTRATION

Ann Sabin Swanso n

E O ITORIALEDITOR Amy Clarke Moore

ASSISTANT ElJlTOR Amanda BerkaCONTRIBUTl~G EDITOR Bobbie lrv....in

TECHNICAL EDITOR Carol H. Rhoadescopy EDITOR & PROOFREADER Katie Banks

EIJITORIAL,\ SSISTANT Judy Bem dtEDITORS EME RITAE Anne Bliss, Lee Raven,

Deborah Robson

For editorial inqu iries , call (970) 6 13·46 50 ,e-mail sp inoff@interweave.com .

Vi sit the Inte rweave Press website at www.interweave.corn.

For sales in formation, ca ll (800) 272 -2193,e-ntail salesccinterweave.com.

CO.·TACT USFor subsc ript ion info rm ation , ca ll (800) 767-9638 orvisi t th e website at www.interweave.com .

For advertising in formation, call Vick i Yost at (970 )6 13~4683 , e-rnail Vickiycointerweave.com. or visit thewebsite at ""..........unte rweave.com.

PIHL ISfl lNGPUBLISHER Marilyn Murphy

ADVERTlS[]\;C MANAGER Vicki VastADVERTISING COORDINATOR Teresa Warren

M,\RKE Tl:-lG M,\NAGER Annie BakkenWEB MARKETING MANAGER Bruce Hallmark

c m e UU\TlON IJlRECTOR 'Ir ish CarterFl'LFILLMENT M,\NAGER Jodi Smith

CO!'i SUJ\n:R MARKETING MANAGER Barbara Naslund

Spin -Off (ISSN 0 198-8239) is published quarter ly(March. June, Septe mber. and December) by InterweavePress LLC, 201 E. Fourth St., Loveland. CO 80537-5655,(970) 669 -7672. USPS #680 -950. Periodicals postagepaid at Loveland. CO 80538 and additional mailingoffices. All conten ts of this issue of Spin -Off are copy­right ed by In terweave Press LLC, 2006 . All rightsreserved. Projects and informatio n are for inspirat ionand personal use on ly. Spin·Off does not recommend,app rove. or en dorse any of the advertisers, products,se rvices, or views advertised in Spin·Off. Nor doesSpin-Off evaluate the advertise rs ' claims in any way.You should. therefore , us e your own j udgment inevaluating the advertisers , products, services, and viewsadvertised in Spin ·Off. Reproduct ion in whole or in partis pro hibited. except by per mi ss ion of the publisher.Subscr iption rate is $30.00/yea r in the U.S., $34.00 inCanada, and $37.00/yea r in other in ternationalcountries, surface delivery. Printe d in the U.S.A.

POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to, PO Box4691 15, Escondido, CA 92046 -9115.

Sl'llSCHIBERS: Please allow six wee ks for process ingaddress changes. Your customer numbe r on the addresslabel is your key to t he best se rvic e possib le. Pleaseinclude it wit h all correspondence to avoid delays orerrors.

I've had a chance to watch a little of the

Olympics, I feel un it ed , not jus t with

the millions of people watch ing the

Olympics, but with fiberists around the

world who have challenged themselves

to follow the Olympic spirit.

Two of this issue's contributors, Dodie

Rush and Carol Rhoades, are participat­

ing. Dodie, a long with the sp inn ing

offshoot of th e Philad elphia Guild

of Handweavers, ispart icipat ing by spin­

ning a two-ply yarn

(19 wraps pe r inch )

from a Merino/Tencel

blend. Carol is wo rk­

ing on a millspun Fair

Isle baby sweate r and

challe nged herself to

knit only in the Conti­

nental style. I'm look­

ing forward to seeing

and hearing ab ou t

what they, and every­

one else , ac hieve as aresult.

What really inspires

me ab out this ca ll to

act ion is that knitters

of all skill levels are in­

vited to participate­

the idea is to challenge

oneself. Working agains t a deadline for

spinning and knitting projects isn't a new

idea-if you stop to think about it, we do

it all the time: the baby blanket for the

newborn, the ves t you want to wear to

Convergence, the carefu lly handcrafted

gifts you make during the holidays. What

makes this challenge truly beautiful is

the alignment with the winte r Olymp ics

and the athletes who have dedicated their

lives to being the best that they can be

in a way that crosses boundari es­boundaries that are ofte n so-so-well,

divisive. Here we have an opportunity toenjoy these ath letes doing what they do

1 See the Spring 2004 issue of Spin·Off. page 120,and the Summer 2004 issue, pages 38-40.

'm writ ing this at the end of Febru­

ary, and, while outs ide our Colorado

spring weathe r is t inged with winte r,

inside there is the war mth of camara­

derie; I feel a se nse of fell owship from

th e call to ac t ion issu ed by Stephan ie

Pearl-McP hee-the Knitting Olympics.

Stephan ie is also known as the Yarn

Harlot (www.yarnharlot. ca/b log/) . You

may rem ember her from the articl esshe wrote for Spin-Off'or, if you're online,you 've probably run

across the blog in

which she capt ivates

her audience with hi­

lar ious acco unts ofher knitting and spin­

ning obsessions . I had

to resist the u rge to

part icipate because

Stephanie's challenge

started with the open­

ing ceremo nies of the

Winter Olympics (you

had to cast on by Feb­

ruary 10 at 2 p.m .)

and ends with the

closing ceremo nies.This directly coincides

with the final weeks of

making the Spri ng

issue of Spin'Off-and 1 fi gured you'd

prefer a magazine rather than an imageon my blog of a finished project. Call me

crazy, but the re it is.

Even though I wasn't one of the 4,000

knitters to participate (Yes- 4,000! And

those a re jus t the folks who notifi ed

Stephan ie about their plans to partici­

pate; many more are simply doing it on

their own), I was keeping an eye on my

clock at 2 p.m. on Friday February 10,

thinking about eve ryo ne with their

needles poised for action. And every time

2 I S P IN ·O FF I WWW.JNTERWE ..\VE.CO M

IN-OfEHave a question about your

Spin·Offsubscription? We have theanswer. Visit our website, e-mail,call , or fax your question and we'llbe happy to assist you.

Go to www.interweave.com and clickon Subscription Services in the pagefooter for new subscriptions, re­newals, gift orders, and to changeyour address, pay your bill, and tosubmit subscription questionsor concerns.

E-mai l:Spinoff@pcspubl ink.com

U.S. Customer Service: (800) 767-9638

Canadian & InternationalCustomer Service: (760) 291-1531

Fax Number: (760) 738-4805

U.S. Mail: POBox469115~""" Escondido, CA 92046-9115~"""

MoClels an Cl ProP.li:Is__..1

ModelsYou have probably noticed that Spin-Dffdraws models from among our colleagues,friends, and families-and this issue was noexception . Amanda Berka (page 60) isSpin'Oil's assistant editor, and HannahRose Moore (page 45) is my daughter.

PropsOn page 30, Dodie Rush is spinning on aLittle Grace Special. made by Mike andMaggie Keeves, of Nelson, New Zealand.The inch gauge on page 47 was made byRod Stevens of Taos, New Mexico. TheEmily spindle on page 67 (and on page58) was made by Adam Mielke of Rudolph,Wisconsin. The light tan spindle on page58 was made by Magpie Woodworks ofGrand Junction, Colorado. Kaye Collins ofFort Collins, Colorado, graciously loanedthe Rick Reeves wheel on page 80 for thephoto shoot.

.... ....:::O~oP.li:Is...! ......From the Classified ads, page 119 of theWinter 2005 issue, the correct number forWillow Creek Alpacas is (800) 323-1918.

best. while we enjoy what we do best.And, sure, th ere is a healthy dose ofcompetition in the Olympics, but thereis also a lot of coming together.Stephanie is the perfect person to makeall of thi s happen, because she alreadyhas a knack for helping fib erists cometogether through her blog.

I'm looking forward to meetingStephanie in person thi s fall-she isgoing to be a guest speaker at Spin-OffAutumn Retreat (SOAR) 2006 in TahoeCity, California (see page 88). I'm hopingto hear about her Olympic experiencefirsthand, and maybe I'll find out moreabout the squirrel that kept stealing herfl eece from the backyard. In light of allthis, we thought we'd tryout a blog forSOAR-we'll have a link on our webpagesoon, www.interweave.corn/spin.

Happy Spinning!

AmyClarke Moore, editor. Spi'l;PffAmyc@interweave.com

o

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S P R ! r-;C 200 6 1 S P I N · O F f I 3

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z>~

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created, and now they are ready to learnabout the yarn that has been runningthrough their fingers - and hopefully theywill want to create their own yarn. Thenext generation of spinners is knocking

at the door and is looking for information,lessons, supplies, and community. Let'sbe ready to teach, share information,direct the m to resources, and grow ourspinning community. It couldn't be abetter time. We'd love to hear how youhave helped a new spinner join the craft.

on and on. Amanda was quite pleased todirect them to the vendors on the showfloor or to members of the Spinning andWeaving Association (SWA).

Then last week, at the Sti tches Westkn itting show and ma rket , Aman dasta ffed the Interweave Press booth andspun through that show as well. Guesswhat? Asimilar th ing occu rred. Crowdsof all ages formed asking about spinning.They wanted to know abou t the tools,fi bers, techniques, and local guilds.

Knitti ng has been hot for the past fewyears. All sorts of new knitters have been

Irene Schmoller of Colton Clouds spinsand chats with TNNA altendees whilevolunteering in the SWA booth .

Spinning DrawsAttention and Crowds

Right after the article ran, we atte nd­ed The National NeedleArts Association(TNNA) tradeshow in San Diego, Cali­fo rnia. Spin-Off 's assistant edito r,Amanda Berka, staffed the Spinning andWeaving Association's trade booth andspun on a handspindle throughout theshow. Many knitting shop owners stoppedby the booth asking all sorts of questions.Where does one learn to spin? Where can

I locate supplies for spinning? Where canI get my mother's wheel repa ired? And

Spinning the Next Generation

The New York Tim es ran an article inJanuary titled, "The New Spinners: YarnIs the Least of It. "! The feature write rElizabeth Olson called Interweave to findout what we know about spinning andthe market, and you bet we provided asmuch data as we could. I asked Elizabethwhat prompted her interest in spinningand she said she had attended the Mary­land Sheep and Wool Festival and foundit fasc inating. Well, spinning is fasc inat­ing-you know that.

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S P R I I\C 2006 1 S P I N' O F F l s

As the Wh orl Spins

to search not on ly by category or key­

word but also by color o r by using the

"geolocator."Th e fi ber co m munity has certain ly

embraced the blog: short for

web log, these on line journals

are as personal as those writingthem. Webrings can be used to

link together blogs on the same

topic or those whose ownershave the sa me interests. The

Spinn ing Wheel is a webring of

nearly 200 spinning-related In­

ternet sites. Ring founder Amie<

~ Glasgow of Balti more, Mary-~

~ land, notes that while interest" in the r ing has been slow but

steady during its two years on

the Internet , there has been a

surge of new members in thelast few months. The ring can be

su rfed by vis it ing Am ie's blog,

RoseByAny.blogspot.com, or any

other sites in the ring. Members

of webrings have c1ickable nav­

igation available from their sites,

usuall y on a s ide bar. To find

more webrings, visit ringsurf.com.With all this surfi ng on line, did you

m iss the New York Times arti cle "The

New Spinners: Yarn Is the Least of It" by

Elizab eth Olson, published on January

19, 2006? Then visi t www.nyt imes.corn

or, for even more links to spinning­related articles appearing in newspapersaround the country, visit www.spinweave.org/learnrnore.htrn.

Shopping isn 't anyth ing new to the

Web, but Etsy, www.etsy.com, offe rs it up

in a new way. Launched in June 2005,

Etsy is sti ll growing and improving its

marketplace exclusively for handmade

goods. Operating like ebay's buy-it-now

option, over 5, 00 0 se llers offer their

wares to nearly 20,000 members . Where

othe r shopping sites make exte ns ive use

of text-on ly searching, Etsy allows users

Cyher Insiderof www.worrnspit .com and Ted Myatt of

www.knitte rg uy.typepad.corn. To listen

to one of her twen ty- to thirty-minute

episodes, visit www.the fibercast.com .

( Iara Parkes, spinner and editor of KnittersReview.com,spun this mohair blend she purchased at the 2005 Mary·land Sheep and Wool Festival. KnittersReview.com addedspinning to their forums in November 2001. In the pastfourteen months there have been 6,702 posts to the spin­ning forums. On spinning, Clara remarks, "It's a naturalevolution for avid knitters who love yarn-what can bebetter than making it yourself?"

odcasts are quickly spreading into

all a reas of the Web. Th ese audio

and video fil es are not on ly ava il-

ab le for downloa d, bu t what se ts them

apa rt is that they can also be

subscribe d to using your com­

puter to automatically download

various shows. Even Nati onalPu blic Rad io, www.npr.org, and

the White House, www.white

house.gov, have started using

pod casts. While the ir name

would imply that an iPod is nec­

essary to enjoy them, you can

also listen to them on other

portable media players as well as

directly through the speakers of

your co mputer. Directories,such as www.podcastdirec to ry

.com and podcas ts.yahoo.corn,

dedi ca ted to indexing pod casts

ca n help you navigate the glu t

of top ics available.

Caro line Morse of Sandown,

New Hampshire, used to on ly

listen to pod casts . Among her

favorites are Marie Irshad's

KnitCast (www.knitcast.corn}, Bre nda

Dayne's Cast-on (www.cast-on.com) . and

SimpleArts Quilting Stash (www.sim ple

arts .com). Th en she realized she could

bring her gift of gab to the informat ion

superh ighway with a focus on fiber. Since

start ing her b iweekly episodes in No­

ve mber 2005 , Caro line has had total

downloads from nearly 1,200 listeners.

Interviewees have included Michael Cook

6 Is PI N · 0 F F I WWW .INTERWE.\ \.E.C0 1.o1

Vis it one of these dealers to t est drive an Ash ford spinn ing whee l and t he new Knitters Loom

For a free colour brochure showing all Ashford products, write the USA Distributor: Foxglove Fiberarts Supply, 8040 NEDayRoad, Suite 4F, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110. Phone (206) 780-2747. www.FoxgloveFiber.com

ARIZONA Cu stom Handweavers COLORADO IDAHO Count ry lane2267 Old Middle fiel d W~y Fiber Arts

Fiber Factory Mountain View. CA 94043 The Red Wheel luManos Sheep 2860 Quincy Ave.150 W. Main (650) 967-0B31 971 N. Park St. Camp New London,lA 5:2 645Mesa. AZ 85201

Carolina Homespun ICastle Rock. CO 80109 \ 9425_\th (319) 367-\06\

(480) 969-4346 (303) 646-0800 Pcceretlo. In 8]204 cntlnflb rartgali sc o.ccmvarn@fiberfac!ory.com Blue Moon Spinnery the re dwhee leaa cl. co m (20B) 478 -'938

45slisbon Street Imshpcmp@dcdLnetThe Squirrel's Nest San Francisco, CA 9411 2 Shuttles Spindles KENTUCKY530 Barrow Drive (800) 450-7786 & Skeins The Sheep ShedSierra Vis.ta , AZ 85635 www.carollnahomespun.com 635 S. Broadway, Unit E 76 N. Robinsun Rd. Stone's Throw(800) 340-5772 Boulder, CO 80305 Nampa,lD 83687 Artisansinfo@flbernuts .com Deep Color (303) 494-1071 (208) 466-4365 116 North Broa dway St.

450 Colusa Ave. (800) 28]-4163 sheepshedeablgpla net.com Georgetown, KY 40370

Studio Three Kensington. CA 94707 lIWiW. shuttle ssplndlesandskeins.ccm (\02) 867-5897

1442 W. Gurley St. (510) 528-8734ILLINOIS

(502) 857·2712

Prescott, Al86305 www.deepcolorstuoto.com Green valleR(928) 778 -0307 Weavers & nillers LS.H. Creations

studicthreeeaqwest.net Rug & Yarn Hut 2115 West Colorado Ave. The Fold 1584 Wetlesley Dr.350 E. Campbell Ave. Colorado Spr, CO 80904 3316 Millstream Rd. Lexlngtcn, KY 40513

Howard's Ca mpbell, CA 95008 (719) 448- 9963 Marengo, ll 60152 (859) 23'-0258

Handwerk Haus (888) 354-5544 toll-free (800) 457-8559 (815) 568-5320 Ish-creatlcn seausa.net

3054 N. First Ave. #8 thefoldgamc.netrucso n. AZ 85719 Mtn. lady Yarns Table Rock llamas l'iW'W.handSpinning.ccmI Ihefold

MAINE(520) 882·7012 24125 Red Cedar Fiber Arts Stud iohowsptngnaol.com Sugar Pine, CA 95383 6520 Shoup Road little Shop of Fiber

Shearbrooke Farm(209) 586-7312 Colorado Springs, CO 1289 Rindeer Road.

CALIFORNIAmtnladva rns@hotmail.com 8090B Highland, tL62249 400 Saw Rd.

(866) 495-7747 (618) 654-\920 Standish, ME 04084

Herndon Creek Farm tablerockll amasen n sn.ccm (207) 642-3067

The Weavers' Collage 17600 Morgan Va ll ey Rd.INDIANA

shearbrooke@pivot.net

15559 W. Sierra Hwy. lower lake, CA 95457 D)fs FibercraftsCanyon Country, CA 91351 (707) 994 -4709 106 W. Main St. Halcyon Yarn(66, ) 250-9995 WNW. pacttlcslte5.com1-hcfa rm Florence. CO 81226-1422 Crete's Spinning Hut 12 School St.

(]19) 784-077\ Hullon llamas Bath, ME 04530

Powell Sheep Co. Alberta Borow djsf bercra fts@earttl [ink.nf'l & Alpacas (800) 341·0282

1826 Keyes Rd. 11525 Dry Creek Rd. )199 East 125South servkegiha tcvonvam.comRamona. CA 92065 Auburn. CA 95602 Fireside Fa rms winamac, IN 46996 www.halcyonvarn.ccm

(760) 789-17\B (530) 8 23-2433 898 211/2 Rd. (574) 946-4908

CountrySpun FibersBern ie@quiknet.com Grand Junction, CO 81505

Sheep Street Fibers MARYLAND(970) 858-9288

1731 Redwi ng St. West Valley Alpacas 125 W. Washington St.The Drafting ZoneSan Marcos, CA 92078 19190 Road 878. Morgantown. IN 46160

(760) 744-0306 Esparto, CA 95627 CONNECTICUT (B12) 597-5648 Custom Flber Processlng

(530) 662-8630 W'NW .sheepstreet.com 16513 Sylvan Drive

Denwar Craft Studio www.westvalleyalpacas .com The Wheel Thing Bowie. MD20715

236 E.16th St. 454 Wells Hi lls Rd. Heckaman's (30') 464- \ 738

Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Meridian Road Studio Lakeville . CT06039 Quilts & Yarns lohra@aol.com

(949) 548 -1342 Robin l ynde (860) 435-2626 63028 U.S. 31South

7811N. Meridian Rd. South Bend, IN 46614 MASSACHUSETISVillage Splnnlng' & vacsvltte, CA 95688 (574) 29'-39,BFLORIDAWeaving Shop (707) 678-5750 Ewe and Me

425 Alisal Rd. The Fiber ClosetSolvang, CA 93463 Spin Web Ranch Uncommon Threads 109 w. High St. 164 Upper Farms Road

Northfield. MA 01360(8B8) 68 6-1192 1361 Easy Lane 31962 U.S. 19 North Rockvilte, IN 47B72(80S) 686-1192 El Dorado Hills, CA 95762 Palm Harbor, Fl34684 (765) 569-2953 (413) 498-4496

www.villagesplnwea ve.ccm (9 ' 6) 939-,864 (727) 784-6778 fibercloset@sbcglobal.net pe ggvgda nlelsgsva hoo.ccm

kbzspinweb@lanset.c.om nnollettgpgte.net www.fl berclcset.corn Bare Hill StudiosAncient Pathways and Fiber loft1294 N. Wishon Rumpelsliltskin GEORGIA IOWA 9 Massachusetts Ave.Fresno, CA 93728 1021 " R" St.(559) ,64-,874 Sarramanto, CA 95814

Ha rvard. MA 01451

Clay House Rose Tree Fiber Shop (800) 874-YARN (9276)www.ancientpathways.net (9'6) 442-9225

lurumpeleahome.com 770 Oglesby Bridge Rd. 2814 West StreetConyers, GA 30094 Ames, lA 50014(770) 4B3-6884 (slS) 292-7076

Mind.s Eye Yarn s22 White St.Ca mbridge. MA 0214°(617) 354-7253WNW.mindseyeyams.com

The Country Crafter270 Main St.Hanson, MA 0234 1(78d 294-4556

Spin-A-B it475 Ply mouth St.Middleboro. MA 02346(soB) 946-]343

MICHIGAN

Heritage Spinningand Weaving47 E. Flint.lake Orlon . MI48362(24B) 693-3690www.heritagespinning.com

The Lavender Fleece)82 6 N. Eastman Rd .Midland. MI 48642(989) 83 2-4908la'le nderfteeceg xt raner.net

The Spinning Loft2400 Faussett Rd.Hcwetl. MI 48843(517) 546-5280www.splnningloft .us

Lady Peddler142 E. State St.Hasti ngs. MI49058(616) 948-9644ladyp@iserv.net

MINNESOTA

Delta's Spindle2592 Geggen-Tlna Rd.Maple Plain, MN 55359(763) 479 -1612(877) 640-1612oetraseeaot.comwww.Dettasspind le.com

Creative Fibers5416 Penn Ave So.Minneapolis, MN 55419(612) 927-8307wew.creauvenbers.ecm

SI. Peter Woolen Mill101 W. BroadwaySI. Peter, MN 56082(800) 208-982 1(507) 934-3734

Yesterday's Craftsute Zels16881400th StAvon, MN 56)10(po) 746-2307

At Loose Ends357 jrd Ave SEPerham, MN 56573Ph/Fax (218) 346-YARN(9276)atlooseend s@aNig.n et

MISSOURI

Weaving Dept.j Myers House180 W. Dunn Rd.Ftorissant (SL Louis)MO 6 3031(866) 9 21-780 0

Wool Ridge20529 '310th St.[amesport, MO 6464 8(660) 684-6677

ATwist in TIme3105.1 Hwv.t amar, MO 64 759(417) 68 ' -5931www.atwisti nt ime.com

Carol Leigh's HillcreekFiber Studio7001 Hil lcreek Rd.Colum bia, MO 65203(800)874-9328(TRI -WEAV)clhfs@aoLcomwww.hil lcreekfiberstl.ld iQ.(Qm

Kidd in' A-Round104 S. MainClinton. MO 64735(660) 885-6614

Yarn Farm LLC614 Pickelsford Rd .SI. Clair. MO 63077(636) 629 -0567

MONTANA

DOn a Sf Fa rm6726 Hwy 312Bill ings. MT 59105(406) 37)-6542www.mantanasheep.com

NEBRASKA

The Plum Nelly113 N. Hastings Ave.Hastings, NE68901(402) 463-6 262

Th e Ashford Book ofWeav ing Fo r Knitters- an inspira tiona l boo kfor an yone wa nt ing toweave with the fun andfa bu lous knitt ing ya rnsnow availa ble .

NEW HAMPSHIRE NORTH CAROLI NA Fiberworks Labadie Looms TEXAS3102 Maginn Dr. / Utopia

The Fiber Studio Spinners Ridge at Dayton, OH45434 2572 Old Phila Pike Heritage Arts9 Foster Hill Rd. Yarn's Etc... (937) 426-5522 (Rt 340) 10740 County Road 102Hennlker, NH 0324 2 2)1 S. Elm St. fibrwrks@aol.com Blrd-ln-Hand , PA17505 Grandvlew, TX 76050(603) 4 28-7830 s reenboro. Ne27401 (717) 29 1-8911 (8 17) 866-2772www.flbe rstudio.com (800) 335-50 11

OKLAHOMAlambobaa@hotmail.com heritarts@aoLcom

www.s.pin nersridge.comMirage Alpacas

Mountain ViewSteam Valley Fiber Upstairs Stud io

2 ) 2 t empster Mountain Rd. Three Wate rs Farm 2304 Stea m Valley Rd. 111 1/2 N. a nd Sr.Washington. located in Yam's Etc... Weavery Trout Run, PA 17771 Laporte. IX 77571NH 03280-0125 205 W. Ma in St. 562 1Mountain View Road. (570) 998-22 21 (877) 722"4996(60)) 49 \ '343\ (Triangle area) Edmcnd, OK 73034 www.steamvallesfl ber.commirageet~cas@l'Dnkl1et.(om Carrboro, NC27510 (40 5) 341-4998 Fay Drozd Studio

(919) 928-8810 wnobbe@sbcglobal. net Allhouse's 229A01d Ingra m loopThe Elegant Ewe www.th reewatersfa rm.com Sewing Center Ingram. TX 7802571 South Main St. OREGON 2]71 Packh ouse Rd. (830) 367-3'52Concord, NH 03301 Shutt les Needles Fogelsvilte. PA 18051 fd ro zd@omnigloba l.net(60)) 226-0066 & Hooks Soft Horizons

(Boo) 615-3216info@elegarltewe.com 214 E. Chatham St. --...AI fhousP5.Si'wingCl"f1l l1! f.tO!n Stonehill

412 E. ' 13th Alle.www.elegantewe.com eary, Ne 27511 104 East urer.Eugene, OR97401(919) 469-WEAV Fredericksburg. TX 78624

The Wool Room (888) 269-6806 SOUTH CAROLINAShurNedHok@aol.com (830) 99 0-8952218 Pleasant St. (141) 343-06\1

(877) 990-8952Antrim, NH 03440 TheWoolery Wool Company

North Woods Farm www.stonehi llspin.com(6 03) \ 88-6637 117 East Main St. Fiber CO., Ll C

Murfreesbo ro. Ne 278 55990-2nd St. SE 420 John High Road

HOd~e Podge (800) 441-966\ Bandon. OR 97411 CampobeHo, se 293 22 UTAHHan icrafts www.woo le ry.ca m (\41 ) 347-39 ' 2 (864) 4 \ 7'492859 Belknap Ave. (888) 4\6-2430 www.northwoodsfa rm.com The Needlepoint JointNewport , NH 03773 The Tail Spinner Loominesce

241 Histo ric 25th St.(603) 863-1470 Richlands, Ne28574 Ogden. UT 84401

Brookln gs. OR97tflS SOUTH DAKOTA(910) 324-630\ (800) 660-43\ \www.tall-splnner. com (541) 469 -0117

NEWYORK www. loom inesce.co m Shyrlee RotingBovidae Farm Th e Web·sters

Handweaving VERMONTCountrywool.com 1608 Iervt s Br. Rd. 237tO'4S4th Ave.

59 Spring Rd. Mars Hi ll. Ne 2875411 North Main SI. Mad ison. SO 57042 '722 7 Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm

Hudson. NY 12534 (828 ) 689-9931 Ashland, OR 97520 (605) 2\6-3701 85 Tucker Hill Rd.

(\18) 828-4\\4 bovida!"@madison.main.nLus (800) 482-9801 Norwich, VT 0505 5fa' (541) 488-83'8 Natural Colored (802) 649-54 20

Genera l Bailey websters@mind.net Wool Studio ellens@together.netHomestead Farm OHIO www.yarnatwebste rs.com 109 N. and Street. www.ellensha lfpintfarm.com340 Spier f all s Rd. Src t cn, SO 57445

Greenf leld (tr., NY 128)) Rollicking Hills PENNSYLVANIA(605) 397-4504 The MerlinTree

(877) 471-WOOl Fiber Designs w. Glover. VTwww.generalbaileyfarm.com 1 Rollicking Hills The Kni tter's TEN NESSEE (802) 754-6433

De Graft, OH 43318 spinfix@sover.nelUndergroundNorth Wind Yarns (937) 585-5,61 WWN. themen int ree.com

& Weaving Co. Llamas@logall.net 308 S. Pennsylvania Ave. lane's Fiber and( ent re Hall. PA 16828 Beads120A West and St.

Oswego. NY 1] 126 The Little House (814) 364-1433 1)415 E. Andrew johnso n VIRGINIA(877) 533-VAR N 1927 Main St reet

yarnshop@ao l.com Hwy.

www.NorthWindYarns.com Clyde. OH 4341 0 Th e ManningsAtton. TN 37616 Misty Mountain Farm

(800) 554-7973 (888) 497-266 \ 154 Quai l Call lane

Spin AYarn www.lin lf>housespinning.(om Handweaving School www.janesfibefandlleads.com Am issv il le. VA 20106& Supply Center (\40) 937'47079 M il chell Ave.

Binghamton, HY 13903 French Creek Fiber 1132 Green Ridge Rd. Kn it 'N Purl www.mlstymQ(lnla inf<Jrm.(om

(607) 722-33, 6 Arts East Bertin, PA 173 16 464 N. Cedar Bluff Rd.

36840 Detroit Rd. (800) 233-7166 Knoxville, TN 379 23 Hunt Country YarnsDaft Dames Avon. OH 440 11 www.the-mannings.ccm (800) 808-7087 1We st Federal Street.

Handcrafts (440) 934-1236 Misty Mountainkn itnpurl@juno.com Middleburg. VA 20117

13384 Main Rd. Rte. 5 www.fre nchcreekfibe r.com (540) 687-5'29Akrcn, NY 14001 Fiber Workshop hcy@skeins.com

(716) 54 2-4235 Sally's Shop 23 Chambersburg St. www.skelns.ccm

141 College S1.Gettys burg, PA 17325

Winderwood w ad sworth, OH 44281 (717) 339-0088 Catherine WhippleCountry Store sallyshopl@c s.co m

mm fiber@aol .com Dodds4934 State Roure 245

www.mistvmountainfw.com 225 No rth King St.

Naples. NY 14512 teesburg. VA 22075

(585) 374-8504 (703) 77]-4256

SpringwaterWorkshop80B N. Fairfax St.Alexandria. VA 22314(703) 549-3634info@springwaterfiber.orgwww.springwaterfiber.org

Stony MountainFibers939 Hammocks Gap Rd.Chartottesville, VA 229 11(434) 295-2ooBBarb.1~StOon'fMountainfjW~.cOl'l'l

WASH INGTON

Weaving Works4717 Brook1vn Alle. NESeattle, WA 98105(888) 524-122 1(206) S24 -1221

NorthwestHandspun Yarns1401Commercial St.Bellingham, WA 98225()6o) 201 '5141

The Fiber Attic1009 First SI. # 2 0 1Snohomish, WA 98290(360) 563-0330

Elizabeth's Yarn& Fiber249U -112th St. E.Buckley, WA 9832 1(253) B26-0218www.ftberzvam.com

Fibers Ett.705 Court C.tacoma. WA 9840 2(25])531-3257(25]) 572-l859

jewetl Creek YarnsMountain Meadow FibreWhite Salmon. WA 98672(s 09) 493-1960bjneal@gorge.net

Janus Alpaca& Fiber Co.11310 S. Gardner Rd.Chenev, WA 99004(s09) 448-2524aIpacaphil@aol.com

Paradise Fibers701 Parvin Rd.(olfa;ll,. WA 99111(509) 397-9'33(B88) 320-SPIN(7746)spinning@paradisef lbers.com

Knot Just Yarn500 E Fairhaven AveBurlington WA1-888-477- KN1TW"NW.knotjustvam.ccm

WISCONSIN

Bahr Creek Llamas& Fiber ShopNI021 Sauk Tra ilCedar Grove, WI 53013(9 20) 668-6417dmaster@bytehead.com

Sheeping BeautyFib re Arts1401 Commercial StWest Bend, WI 53090(26 2) 334-0370_ .shttpingbeilutvfibrearts.-eom

Apple HollowFiber Arts732 jefferson St.Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235Order Line 888-324-8302a~hford@applehol1ow.com

www.applehotlow.rcm

Susan's Fiber ShopN250 Hwy. AColumbus, WI 5392 5(9 20) 62]-4237(8B8) 603·4237 orderssusanfiber@internetwis,(omwww. susansfi bershop.com

Mielke's Fiber ArtsLLC2550 Co. Rd. 11Rudolph, WI 54475(715) 344 -4' 04www.mielkesfiberarts.com

Red Barn FarmRi1JN Roa d.Buttemut, WI54514(715) 769-3773rose@redbamfann.net

The Fiber GardenW 11670 Goldsmith Rd.Black River Falls, WI 54615(71s) 284 -4590infar@fibergarden.comwww. ftbe tgarden.cem

Wool Farm Crafts20940 Cedar Point RdGransburg. WI 54840laramY1992@Yahoo.com715-488-2665

Egdewood Arts109 N. Main St.Waupaca, WI 5498 1(715) 258-0909(715) 2S8W17 (faxledgewoodartsesggfbbs.com

Letters

Linda's creation is astall as she is-5'3"­but weighs just over6 pounds, so it is

very wearable.

QUEBEC

Authentik~60 (~.SI.E"fJ'IL l "Ephiphl n;p. QC

Jsx lM'IIASo) SBB-l81S

NEW BRUNSWICK

Loodun-Wul FarmIg j] "'I"i~n~o" R(),Jd. lJ .e~u "'. ~B

(,Dl» ) 8 l~90

InrO(ifl~W<)'~~,(Dm

_.Ih'l'>li(l{llwo "'~ .,om

ONTARIO

The B[<I(k lamb2415- Rld<lll! St,.1'IlI1 H'W'!.0 111LIJI ,p)19I"J aB, -'CH9'Qflb'v-@I~bl.ckl.Imb_,,"_.lhrbl~ kJ lm b_~1

Geminl flbl~ SRtrh . S06l MLAlberl Rd ~>t,.

Mt.Alb-e I\,ONloG ,Mo1!J.ool s64·~" (9QSJ 413' 1033&~m1,,1nb~inl~rfIop.c0111_.t:~ mlnlflb 't'~ ,(om

Knit-Kn.ckers'I';l rn W;ueMtJSe40 I.mt'~ 'il, Otttw., O~K.P' of6((rl]111Nn~

I..rll@_"it·kna' k~~ . C,,,,,_ .•"It-_ ". ( '~'~.c...mThe 'I';lm Source~t>(,. H""I6.. Swth"Ii'Rh.Bloom ~fflI. ClNKQI( ."'"(lol l) 19NB'l'9 f~, ~ o/" 11 )91-'<,,(,"~""on,~.m.@I'ymp.1 iaI.<~_ _,.m~,..'...Whal ' SWeft~.. ' Elmwood D<i~ .

IlPII ""';ll ~" ON IUilt ¥ 4 (6 ,1Jo1'f'~"94 1O

P_ll'-@k.o ··~pj

NOVASCOllA

Gaspt!I~~u ¥oIl1~y Fi~re~

!]QGASP"~'U Ai~.. Ad.PO 8<1, :1J6So,Wollville. MSB"P l~~

(9lI' ) ,...-.6'-': ro.t 1901) 5'l ' -I,a,l oll """' 817 6RBRES 18n -6,4 -n 111"~~H"~"fPAu~. ll<'yribw"" A

_.J:.'IH!~.uv. llw1'1t>~ ~_<.

AlBERTA

Ce le igh WoolRR'l, stte 11 601> 1. M II'~'. ABToC Ll"{,So} le" .0.0,ttl ~ it!l@I~lu ,pIBntt n~

Pam's WQollyShoppe"Su ';.Ulh st. St o~v Pl.Iin. A.8T1Z ,V"lIe-a}9">, 'I~S 9toll ~e (.s&!)~3- 1SS9f~", (]8oJ~,-17T8

Shunleworks LldSil '!' ,. 6<.». 9. RIi'~ I. oe Wi "~ ..."(C. lg. ",J. ABrot oXll (40-;.'1 938-1('9'9mlilljls~nl......o<h. rD'"

W'tNI.sh.at\ll.....,.,s.".m

BoRlTI$HCOLUMBIABirkeland BIOS. Woo[lId]~7l Ma In St \t.'lrM:GU"",.~V~III IN.151l4J 814 4114bin'!'l. ndwwl@t~lu"'" ptw-.blrl:o>I3MwMl_(Ml

Hummins bird HbseArt ~ Slullio11 R i"' ~ P'i. ~' n.il imo.llC

'I., T,6.,I~"J lS"''''''''(8606) flIlRE"U[J.\2-734"j. j. 'Dbi' ft~ ~!.ha"".eaJ\lybile e Fa rmgo;.; 66,. LJl:12S~ 3­(; ,~pnwood , 8(

'Io H tJQtoU fnoe '-&;6-965-W'OQL'iil le~fi ~'.fl5 .(.

......... .fTl>o,~oj~.c~

I(nit o-pi;l wcets CO .1 ~461<>hMIM Rd.WhilP Rc>ct. BC. V"ll 3151604J ~lh'181.Bjgtl rr.e 1-866-, 11-9606'.>11 rst;d/ln _kn lll~o@IwIMll I Ll:~

Pa ga n Crl' i1lionsII I H llch~ a,oJd.( ampb.foll R....~'.!It'I9W IP412~o19232JS"PA~~"pj.l"nd_ ~.t

Sun eenth F1bre~f 1 - "979 Broadway St.(hllliwdr il. se. Vl l' , Vg (604l' '.l}oOO,!¥l'Qo l]nQ'l i@U~~~~,( om

Lin da BOTCh

G am br ills , Mar y lan d

A m y Du r gelo h

Palm e r , Ala ska

the course of two years as my client sentme more dog hair.

The yarn is spun from the hair of twokees ho nden. It is a loftyworsted -weight yarn, spunfrom lightly carded batts. Myclient sent me her favoriteraincoat to create a patternfrom. I crocheted the bodyof t he coat in a simple butsturdy pattern stitch, so shewill never have to wo rryabout a "sagging bottom "when she stands up!

The sleeves are crochetedwith some relief stitches.The hood is knitted lace, andside gussets are knitted witha mock cable. It has beensafely delivered to my cus­tomer and was well received.

Novelty as we linow itJudi th MacKe nz ie McCuin rightly

credits Bernat Klein as a leader in chang­ing the way that we th ink abo ut colorand texture in text iles in her a rt icle"Novelty Yarns: Endless Variations On aThread," Spin -Off, Winter 2005. How­ever, she oversimplifies when describinghim as "an eight-year-old Jewish refugee. . . who started out sweep ing mills in

Cftarlifta spinning tipsI spun my Your Yarn! samples for th is

issue on a book-sized charkha fromIndia. I've found that for those of us whowould rather work sitting in a chair, hav­ing a Iow table abou t waist height whensitting keeps your right shoulder fromgetting sore. Gripping shelf lining underthe charkha keeps it from sliding on thetable wi thout having to clamp it down.

Brt d ge t Mill er

Collf n gw o o d , Ne w Z ea lan d

J ea n n i n e G la v es

Tu lsa , Ok lah oma

A ftandspun crocheteddog ftair coat

With the recent showcase of canineyarn in th e Your Yarns! departme nt, Iwanted to send a photo of the "motherof all" dog hair coats! I worked on it over

Spinning revolutionI found Randy Chelsey's thoughts on

Mahatma Gandhi's life and spinning tobe interesting. Spinning canbring peace to a person; justask my grate ful child ren.For Gandhi, spinning was apowerful tool that he wasusi ng to break down therigid social and occupation­al stratification of the castesystem. Change is resistedand Gandhi was assassinatedfor this.

Editor's Note: One example ofcabled yamis two 2-ply yarns plied together. It ismade offour strands but it's not consid­ered 4-ply since the four strands are notall plied together at once. The possibili­ties are endless; you could make adifferent cabled yam for every day ofthe

year. See Spinning Designer Yarns byDiane Varney (Loueland, Colorado:

Interweave Press, 2003) for instructionsand other variations.

Wftat is acabled yarn?

I have been watching theYour Yarn! department ofSpin -Off with interest, plan­ning to one day send someyarn in. I see that the June deadline isfor cabled yarns. Can you please explainwhat a cabled yarn is?

12 I S PI N . 0 F F I www. 1 ~ T E R W E A V E . C 0 j\J

ROVINGS

Your Yarn! featuring readers' yarns receives more mailthan any other department in the magazine as exempli­fied by the number of letters about it in this Letters de­partment. How do you feel about the Your Yarns! de­partment?

o 1love it just the way it is; don't change a thing.

o 1like it, but can YDU reduce the number ofpages ittakes?

And our survey says ...

l OA.! sent us e-mails and letters detailing what they 'dlike to see or expanding Dn the optionsgiven obooe.

Spin-Off Autumn Retreat (SOAR) 2006 reg istration materialsare available online at www.interweave.com/spin/events/SOAR/ along with scholarship application details.

The purse featured on the cover of Spin·Off. Winter 2005 .was such a hit with readers that we are now offering JanaTrent's exact pattern for this knitted and fulled purse on ourwebsite at www.interweave.comjspinj .

If you're inspired to build your own charkha after looking atthis issue's Your Yarn! department, instructions originally print­ed in the sold-out Winter 1996 issue of Spin·Off are nowavailable on our website.

o Expand it;1want mDre info from participants andmaybe swatches, tOD.

Visit our website at www.spinoffmagazine.com and giveus your answer.

4.5% want projects and ideas for using their yams.

28% want basic spinning intormation-s-tundamentatinstruction and technique.

26% want how-to articles Dn using equipment.

In the Winter 2005 issue we asked what you would liketo see more of in the magazine. Here are the results .

We will be asking the Spin·Off Reader Advisory Panelfor more input on Your Yarns! while the department ison summer vacation next issue. To join our reader advi­sory panel, visit www.interweave.com/spin/sprap.asp.

at Spinoffmagazine.com!New

Galashiels... ." But the story of how Bernat Klein came to besuch a catalyst in textile design is worth noting.

Born in 1922 in a sma ll town in Yu goslavia near theHungarian border, he was educated locally and then in strict

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Jewish schools in Yugoslavia andJerusalem between the ages of thirteenand seventeen. He then turned his backentirely on his training and entered theBezalel School of Art and Craft inJerusalem to study art and then textil edesign. He subsequently came to Britainand enrolled at Leeds University to studytextile technology. He eventually fetchedup in Galashiels in 1951 as a technicallyaccomp li shed texti le designer. He haslived and worked in the Scottish Bordersever since, and the landscape has been aprimary source of inspirat ion for histextiles.

Bemat Klein: Textile Designer, Artist,Colourist was recently exhibited at theHawick Museum in association with theBernat Klein Trust and will be travelingto other venues in Scotland during 2006.

Hi la ry Mi l l er

An glese y, Wale s , U n i t e d Ki n g d o m

A response from Judith MacKenzieMcCuin: As Hilary Miller said, BernatKlein's life is definitely intriguing and

mysterious-from eastern Europe toJerusalem during the start ofWorld War

II. That would be an incredible story initself. But, it wasn 't his personal life that

captured my heart and changed mylife-it was his simply stunning yamsand fabric.

Let me tell you how I first came toknow about him. In the early 1960s, Ilived on a remote island off the westcoast ofCanada. I wove large tapestriesfor banks and public buildings-weaving

clothing was sim ply not an acceptableoccupation, and we, modem and young,considered cloth mostly below ournotice. But a woman who traveled wide­ly owned a summ er estate on the island.She asked me to weave some cloth tomatch a piece she'd bought on hertravels from a "Scottish designer. "Andas 1needed the money . . . I remember,

even now, nearly forty years later,unwrapping, and then unrolling the boltofjacket material. It's such a cliche tosay it took my breath away, but thatindeed, is what it did. Made me weak inthe knees, too . And shy in th e presence

ofsuch unusual beauty. I knew that myweaving life, as I currently knew it, wasdone, and I had found the discipline andframework that would shape my craft.

Today, as a teacher, when 1 demon­strate novelty yams to a spinning class,it 's the yam from that fabric, a marled

and cabled slub, that I re-create as athank you to the visionary designer whoopened, for m e, a door you don 't walk

back through.

Share your stories, send us clippings ofspinn ing-related news, and let us knowwhat is important to y ou. Spin 'OffLetters, 201 E. Fourth St., Love/and, CO80.537-.56.5.5. spinoff@interweave.com.Fax (970) 669-6117.

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Reviews

- Deboroh Pulliam

handspun can, of course, adapt the pat­terns give n. A detailed explanation ofsock construction techniques fo llows,incl uding different methods of shapingcuffs, heels, and toes. Next are tips oncustom fi tting, measuring, and match­ing sock dimensions to shoe sizes. A

guide to the specialstitches used in thepatterns is included,with large, clear il­lustrations.

The patterns them­selves include bothtoe-up and cuff-downdesigns and range froma basic sock pattern todesigns incorporatinglace or cables. Stitch pat-terns ar e intended to

mimic the look and fe el of knitti ng;however, the authors acknowledge thatcrocheted socks will have their ownun ique character. Rehfeldt and Woodgive tips throughout on how to com­pensate for differences between the twotechniques to get the best results.

Afte r trying many of the patte rnswith fine sock yarns at the suggestedgauges, I found the resulting crochetedfabric to be thicker and less elastic thanthat of my own handknitted socks madewith similar yarns. That said, the shap­ing and fit ting techn iques given in thebook are quite good, with interestingstitches and helpful instruct ions. Thepatterns were enjoyable and the fin ishedresults pleasing. With this book in handand an understanding that knitting andcrochet produce fundamentally differ­ent results, crocheters in need ofwarmsocks wi ll be able to crea te their ownwell-fitti ng footwear with a characte runique to their craft.

-Sandi Wiseheart

- continued on page 23

)rJ

\\ () () I)

Crocheted Socks!16 Fun-to-StitchPatterns

J

friends. Not surprisingly, most are simpleand rely heavi ly on the yarn for interest.Some definitely fall into the "funky" cat­egory but may appeal to beginner spin­ners and knitte rs who need extra help.Sweaters and accessories for adults andchildren are supplemented byone lone pillow and an afg hanadaptation.

Most crocheters wishing to makefootwear th ink primarily of slippers orbed socks, leaving fi ne-gauge, fi tted socks(suitable for wear inside one's shoes) toknitters, Authors Rehfeldt and Wood,both experienced knitwear and crochetdesigners, wanted to create socks that

combi ne the shaping of knittedsocks with the rich variety ofcro­chet stitch patterns. They tookthe familiar knitted sock con­struction-cuff, leg, heel flap,gusset, foot, and toe-andtried different crochet tech­niques until they came upwith footwear that was bothcomfortable and stylish.

The introduction statesthat th is is not a book for

beginning crocheters- thereis no guide to basic stitches, and the cro­cheter must be comfo rtab le with read­ing patterns. The authors begin with adiscussion of how to choose th e rightyarn for making socks. Those interestedin crochet ing socks usin g their own

Woodinville, Washington:Martingale & Company, 2003. Paperbound,64 pages. S18.95. 1SBN 1-56477-4.94-5.

Camden. Maine: Down East Books. 2005. Hard­bound, 128 pages, $25.9.1. ISBN 0-89272-667-9.

Dyeing to Knit

Although this book does include twen­ty knitting patte rns that may-or maynot-appeal to the reader, its strength isin the middle of the book. After a sectionon the basics of calor and how variouscolors work together, and another moresubstantia l discussion on dyeing withacid dyes, there is a well-thought-outchapter titled "The Design Phase" thatincludes information and suggestions onhow to use the yarn you've dyed, be itsolid, painted, or space dyed (the threemethods covered in the dyeing chapter).

One of the disappointments of cre­ative dyeing is that often the skeins aremore attractive than the final product.Eskesen's chapter on designing and in­spiration with calor will give a beginneror timid designer enough to think aboutand get started experimenting. She be­gins-as all spinne rs and knittersshould-with an emphasis on gauge andalso points out the frequently overlookedimportance of choosing the appropriatesize needles for a specifi cyarn.

She takes herown insp irationfor calor and de­sign from the nat­ural beauty of herhome state of Maine,as well as from art­work, ranging fromMonet, Matisse, andKlee to text il e tradi­tions from around theworld to her children'sartwork from school.

For the patterns, Eskesen, owner of ayarn shop in Damar iscotta, providedhand-dyed yarns to staff and knitting

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RebaMalsel MISSOURIPO Box 327 -- . ~ --9 Massachusetts Ave. (Ate. Carol Lelgh'.11 1), Harvard, tvtA Ol 451 Speclattles978-456·8669 carol Lelghl'arn(iiTh rFib~rLon.com 7001 Hil.lcreek Rd.M~W. Thcf.iberLofl.rom CoIunba, MO 65203Dream Acres StUdio 573-874-2233Cathyllartz 1-800-TRI-WEAV109 Bedden Rd MONTANAwestrot. MA 02790 T~te";Kntt.(508) 636-2401 IIary l ee Schnltzerw 2sr«faoLrom Box 360. R.R. # 1h~'!!dJmmt4C!!'S9'wfkNW! ~ Lone T,ee Bd.Useful Things JoIIet, MT 59041-95976 East Main Street 406-962·3607westoc. tvtA 01581 The Jo)' of508-847.9855 Handsplnnlngmichelleh 75<iiaoLcom Tulasl K.lIgoreMICHIG-N 1925 Billings Ave.- _~L Helena, MT 59601Heritage Spinning 406-431-1688& Weaving in fO(ii joro{hand.'iJ?inning.Joan Sherldan com47 E Rint -" M!M!, jol'fJ{hand\pinning.lake Orioo, MI 48362 com

248-693..3690 Willows & WoolinfiJ(ifheril!llfespinninlf&!!!! Deborah RodgerswWWoheritugrspinning.rom 1331 Summerdale

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Alchemy FibreDesIgnsDanuta KBmockl4 Chippewa St. E.Ca,\Jga, ON NG'< 1EO905-772-3093The Black LambLBurie Goldiuk246 AJdout SI.Port j-coe. ON L1A 1P3905-885-0190th t blad /amMVsrmpatiro.rll_~thtblllcli.lamb.ca

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Mon. IN 37616 Productions Earth Song Fibers423-639-7919 43 Maple tare Ma,., K. Hagoniandiiianpfihtran4heo East Burke,vr 05832 1782 40th Ave..... 802.828-6002 QsceoIa W1 54020tl'lt~ 802.626-6005 Ifaxl 715-268·5298gm ropperm~chartf1inn l':i fiYartk\Ongfibns.romBlue Goose Glen tl",w.rPPp«mOO~f.cvm tl'tt'tt\earthsonglibn:s.rom

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S P R 1 N G 2 n () 6 1 S I' I N · 0 F F I 21

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more Reviews. • •(continued from page 18)

could very well have been The Nature ofFabric and the Fabric ofNature. In the

photographs, the bea uty of the yarn in

various stitches, colors, and textures meld

with th e bea uty of clo uds, wate r, and

bedded in rou gh red sand

transform seamlessly into

a wonderfu l cab led tweed

fabri c. In anothe r photo -

gra ph, gray river stones

merge with lovely knit hand­

sp un so perfectly tha t it is

hard to know whe re fabric

and landscape part.

Even people whose in ter­

est in textiles does not extend beyond the

thread count of their bedsheets will like

this boo k for its qu irky bea uty. For a

novice kn itter or spinne r, I think it will

provide many insights into the so urces

of design inspirat ion . And, while it is

rious, inexplicable why of kni tting as we

tu rn fro m page to beautifu l page.

If you can imagine Isaku Noro and An­drew Goldsworthy-playfu l and imagi­

native artists/designers that they

are-wandering through fi eld

and forest, next to seashore and ~­

st ream with baskets of glo ri-

ous yarns , kni tt ing needles

tucked under their arms, you

will have some idea of the vi­

sual deli ghts of this boo k.

Add to it Tellier-Loumagne's~~.,;,,;;; ­

schola rly and though tfu l

analysis of the structure of

kni tting, which fl ows throu gh the book

wit h the orderl y movement of a Bach

concerto, and you have a book that will

bring new concepts on the use of th read

and the nature of fabric.

In fact, the book's subt itle, Inspira­

tional S titches, Textures and Surfaces,

The Art of Knitting:Inspirational Stitches ,Textures and SurfacesBY FR\!\COISE

TELLIER L01M\C.E

The Art ofKnitting is an elegant and

unusual book, full of wonderful surpris­

es and visual delights. I'd looked through

it twice before I realized there was n't a

garmen t in sigh t. Not one sock, m ulti­

eolore d or otherwise, nary a scarf, noteven a dishcloth. And whe n I did realize

that there were no patterns per se, and

the book was, in fact, aimed more for the

kn it designer who designs for industrial

kn itting machines (there is a very token

nod to handknitters), I didn't mind a bit.

Rather than dealing with the how of knit­

t ing, th is book seduces us with the glo-

New York: Thames & Hudson, 2005. Paper­bound, 318 poges, $39.9". ISBN 0-" 00-28,,,,7-8.

T he O riginal

t . ~ •..........-Howard Hand Card Made in USA

All of our products are handcrafted in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Our Hand Cards are manufactured tothe exact specifications developed by the founders of the Howard Brothers Company in 1866. Each hand cardis formed using select woods, with a gently curved compromise between flat and strongly curved cards, allow­ing for both styles of carding action. The handles are ergonomically designed to shape and fi t, easy to orient,sturdily attached to the carder back and finished with a warm hand-rubbed sheen. These traditionally madehand cards are offered in 3 sizes: Standard, Student and Mini, and in 5 densities from 54 TPI to 190 TPI forthe fiberarts community.

These 5 traditional densities of card clothing are available in widths of 8".10". 12" and 14" for your Drum Carding requirements, and can be purchasedby the linear foot.Also, being the manufacturer we can fabricate carding clothfor many of your specia l fiber process requirements.

Our goal is to offer quality hand card tools and drum card ing cloth at a reasonable price to keep the craft ofspinning affordable. By doing so we are quickly becoming the supplier of choice for the fiberarts community.

We also manufacture.._• basic frame kits • rug hooking gripper strips • drum carding cloth •

Call or check our w ebsite for a dealer near you!

800-556-7710 • www.howardbrush.com

S P R I N C 2 0 0 6 I S P I N . 0 F F I 23

definitely not a project book, it does have

a sign ificant amount of technical infor­

mation that will be a goo d resource for

both yarn and knit designers. For the

more expe rienced textile designer, the

combination of the cl ear st ructu ral

diagrams, text, and pictures will present

intriguing possibilities for many years to

come.- Judith MacKenzie McCuin

Maran Illustrated:Knitting & CrochetingB y ~ \ R \ N C R ~ P 11 I ( S

DE\'ELOPMENT CROl P

Boston: Thomson Course Technology, 2005. Pa­perbound, 297pages, $24.99./SBN 1-.59200-862-3.

Knitting & Crocheting from the Maran

lllustrated series is one of the most com­

prehensive learn-to-knit books available

today. Page after page of cheerfu l photos

and concise text guide the new knitter to

success . The Maran family and knitting

cons u ltan t Joanne Yordanou make no

assumptions about the reader's

knowledge of knitting, so they

start at th e very beginning.

The fir st chapter covers

basic fiber information, sizesof yarn, and how to read a

yarn label. Spinne rs might raise an

eyebrow about some of the fib er descrip­

tions but most of the information is solid.

Ashort discussion of knitting needles and

necessary knitting notions is included.

Ste p-by-ste p photos in the "Knitt ing

Basics" chapte rs show cas t ing on and

how to knit and purl using both the En­

glish and cont ine ntal methods. Accom­

panying the text are lots of tips to ease

the process. A sect ion on measurin ggauge and how to read patterns provides

the read er with the skill to choose from

a select ion of basic st itch patterns for

scarves and washcloths.

Subsequent chapte rs introduce knit­

ting in the round using circular needles

and double points, calor knitting, lace,

and cables. How to repair dropped st itch-

es and ripping out are

al so addresse d. As the

reader's skill improves,

more complex patterns arepresented. Not to be forgot­

ten is a section on finishing,including picking up stitches,

blocking, graft ing, and several

seaming methods. Again , many colorfu l

photographs take the reader through

each step of the process.

Then, like icing on the cake, there is a

comprehensive section on crochet. Likethe knitting part of the book, it progresses

from the most basic to more complex and

includes pattern stitches and projects.

Learning to knit or crochet is excit­ing and challenging, and the authors of

Knitting & Crocheting have worked hard

to make it easy. Much care has gone into

translating quick motions of the hand

into many detail ed photographs. If you

are learning to knit and crochet from a

book, this one would be a great choice!

- Maggie Casey

24 I S PI N . 0 F F I w ww. I ~ T E R W E A V E . C 0 />l

,re•PAT GREEN CARDERS, LTD,:;J

48793 Chilliwack Lake Road, Chilliwack, B.C., Canada V4Z IA6

Telephone (604) 858-6020

Call Toll Free 1-877-898-2273 for free brochure, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. our time (Pacific Time)

DID YOU KNOWtPat has been personally handcrafting fine carders for over 10 years.

EXPERIENCE PLUS DEDICATION TO DETAIL = EXCELLEIICE

DEB'S DELICATE DELUXE • Comes with the famous "Fur" drum for all delicate fibers.

The most popular and versatile of all hand-turned carders,

named for Deb Menz who encouraged the development of its

special 30: I carding and blending ratio, which makes it so

efficient for carding all medium wools and exotics.

• Interchangable "Production" drum can be added for

processing strong fibers.

• Infeed drum spirally wrapped, with no unproductive groove

as found in many lower quality carders.

• Unique 9Y4 inch wooden infeed pulley.

• Hardrock maple frame and solid laminated drums.

• Anti-friction bearings for smooth and effortless

performance.

• Supplied with table clamps. cleaning brush. and doffer stick.

• Operating instructions and over 20 pages of comprehensive

"Carding Notes" included.

BACK IN PRINT!

Spinning for Softness and SpeedNow available from Paula. $20 U.s., price includes postage.

CALL PAULA TOLL FREE, 877-898-2273for prices, free brochure, or for

information about our equipment.

SEE OUR WEBSITE: patgreencarders.comfor photos and details about:

• the MOTORIZED FANCICARD

• the MOTORIZED THREE-DRUM SUPERCARD

• the MOTORIZED FOUR-DRUM ELSACARD

• the FAMOUS TRIPLE PICKER

Does your carder havedental problems?Since carder teeth have a "knee".

they will bend back and rise above

the normal tooth surface if

damaged by matted bunny fur.

burrs, or badly tangled (unpicked)

fibers. For realigning bent teeth.

use a draftsman's propelling pencil

with its lead removed. Slip the

pencil over the tooth and move

it gently into place.

F A L L 2 0 0 6 I S PI N . 0 F F I 25

,oo

cenes:

ree

the

•

•In

er In

Bet seems my life has re­

volved around wheels," says

Dave Paul of The Merlin

Tree, "as a teenager I cycled

where friends drove." Dave

started his career in 1968 as a

teacher, then took to managing

an international bicycle tour­

ing company, Vermont Bicycle

Touring. His life spun back

around as he returned to teach­

ing part-time while working at

home refurbishing old wood­

and-canvas canoes.

"

Dave Paul tapering a replacement gunwale tip. BY LAURA SILVERMAN

Dave purchased his home, a one-roomVermont sc hoo lho use and the futurelocation of The Merlin Tree. in 1971. In1994 he married Kathlecn, and theyadd ed more rooms to the property. The"great room" was devoted to spinningand knitting. A second story added overthe carriage house became Kathl een 'syarn and fiber shop. Finally, a buildingfor the canoes was built.

Many of Kathleen's friends love fiberarts and frequently came over to spin. AsDave's sho p becam e fun ctional . theysta rted bringing him their old andantiqu e whee ls for repair. He becamevery ad ept at it and began to buy and

refurbish wheels as a h obby. As hi s

collect ion grew. the group suggested thathe show his wheels at the Vermont Sheepand Wool Festival. "I restored them sothat they would really work," Dave says."They 're unlike the refurbished wheelsof the 1950s and 1960s which werebrought back only as decor." He had a ballat the fall 2002 show, sold out his stock,and decided to exhibit at other festivals.

After expe r iencing hi s first festival,Dave spent a lot of time thinking aboutthe whee ls h e had sold. Many we reCanadian Production Wheels. unique tothe Eastern Townships of sou t he rnQuebec. These Canadian wheels are best

known for their cast-iron treadles.

tension er saddles, and iron footm ent.Dave decided he cou ld mak e a truereproduction. "The wheels were jus t fine

Jacob sheep, Icelandic sheep, and Cashmeregoats have all been part of The MerlinTree flock.

c"o"c,

26 I S PI N . 0 F F I www. 1 N T E R W E A V E . C 0 j\J

Wheel Basics

='-inners test-drive at a wheel-bui c1ini~~e each participantakes, home lh ~ir ilchHiker .~

SPINSTER LAURA SILVERMAN

lives in Tarzana, California, with

her dogs Cosmos and Sunny,

who, she regrets, make lousy

tibersources because their hairis too short.

For more information, contact The MerlinTree, 2093 Barton Rd. , Wesl Glover, VT05875. (802) 754·6433; www.TheMerlin­Tree.com.

Drive-band material: No drive band. Therubber whorl drives directly off the side oflhe solid wheel.

Standard ratio: 7.1:1. Optional ratios:5.1:1,9.1 :1

Orifice height from the fioor: 17'/."

Orifice size: %"

Bobbin length: 4%"

Flyer width between arms: 41J4"

Flyer hooks: 6 stationary guides per arm

Model name: The HitchHiker

Current retail price: Base model $259

Wood type: Ballic birch, ash, tulipwood,cherry, and butternut. Other woods optional.

Finish: Unfinished or single coat of leakoil. Other finishes optional.

Drive type: Friction drive

Treadle type: Single treadle, left or rightfoot options

Standard accessories: Orifice hook,3 bobbins, and onboard lazy kate

Options: Specially wood lrim orpaint finishes

Drive-wheel diameter: 14"

Total height: 19%" it is airlinecompatible and will fit in a standard largecanvas tote.

Bobbin core diameter: %"

Connecticut Sheep &

Wool Festival. "I feltoverwhelmed at theresponse!"he says.

Dave still teachesmiddle schoo l sc i­ence half-time anddevot es even morehours to his business.Dave continues to re­furb ish old canoes,all the while trying tokeep up with thedemands of his fi bercl ien ts. He lovesbeing fl exible and meeting people'sneeds. "I found something that I enjoydoing. I get a great deal of satisfactionin making things that people can use,especially when I get to work with theperson who is going to use it." Y!

the way they were . There wasn't anyreason to improve on them," Dave says.

Dave spent a lot of tim e analysing agroup of wheels, carefu lly measuring allthe parts and the angles, then averagingthem to design his prototype. Aftertweaking his plan, Dave was surprised tofind that the fini shed result closelyresembled a wheel in his collection.

Locating a supplier for the cast-irontreadles was more difficult. "It became alife-force of its own," Dave says. He finallyteamed with Schloss Furnaces, a nationallan dmark foundry in Birmingha m,Alabama. Devoted to educating ap­prentices in the old way of ironwork, theywere an ideal match for his purposes.Schloss's historically correc t outputhelped make it hard to tell the differencebetween Dave's reproductions and theoriginals.

Once the treadles were ordered, TheMerlin Tree was fully committed to thespinning whee l business. Dave limi tedhis treadle order to a quantity he felt wasman ageable bu t not a burden, if hisventure failed. He needn't have worried,though; to date he's sold forty-eight ofthe fi fty Canadian reproduction wheelsorigi nally planned in 2002. Dave iscurrently developing a new des ign torep lace his Canadian reproductionwheels.

The Merlin Tree is also well known fo r"The Hitchhiker," a spinning whee ldesigned and executed by Dave. His planwas to make a serious ly portable, rea­sonably priced wheel that didn't take it­self too seriously. With its carry inghandle cut out in the shape of a fis t withits thumb stuck out, and a foot­shaped treadle, the wheel was certai n lysuccessful.

Dave took his prototype to Kathleen'sspinning guild for input in Ap ril 2005."They suggested specific changes thatmade a real difference," he said. Oneinvolved the addition of an onboard lazykate. When one of the women at themeeting posted a picture of it on her blog,the phone orders started. He sold anothereight soon afte r that at the 2005

S P R I N C 2 0 0 6 I S P I N . 0 F F I 27

Schacht Spindle Company products are availablethrough a network of dealers . The know ledge they

have to share with you and the services they have tooffe r ma ke them a great place to purchase our

spinning wheels and spinning supplies. Stop by andvisit them and pick up your copyof our beautiful full­

color catalog. Here is a list of some of our dealerswho haw contributed to this advertisement.

SCHACH1~f'PllNnU~ I":.

ALASKAFar North FibersAnchorage AK 99508907-279-0 332fa mort hfibers@ala ska.comWWI\' .famorrhfiben .rom

ARIZONAThe Fiber FactoryMesa, AZ 85201888-969-9276 480-969-4>46prn(afiberfacrory.(omwwwJ iberfac tory.com

CALIFORNIAAncient PathwaysFresllo; CA 93728559-204-1874infor @ancientpathw ays. netwww.ancientpathways.net

Boulder Creek YarnBoulder Creek?CA 95006831- 338- 36 hboulderc reek ya rn@aoLcom

Caro lina HomespunSan Francisco, CA 94112800-450-7786415-33 7-6876morgaine@carolinahomespun.comwww.carnlinahomespuri.ccm

RumpelsrilrskinSarramenro, CA 95814916-442-9225rumpel@yarnyarnyarll.comwww.yamyarnyafll.com

A Simpler TimeEl Cajoc, CA 91021619-579-91 14fax 619-579-2113asimpier time(g"alpaca tUS.comwwv.a simplertimemilLcom

VilIag,e Spinning &WeavingSolvang. CA 9346,888-6 86- 1192805-686- 1192villageslJinweave@earthlink.netwww.villagespmweave.com

The Weavers' CoerageCanyon Counny, CA 91)90661-250-9995fax 661-250-9444info@weaverscoltage.comwww.weaversconage.rcm

West Valley AlpacasEsparto, CA 95627530-662-86 30fax 530-662-1220mailiQ westva lleyalpacas,comwww.westvalleyalpacas.com

COLORADODJ's FiberCraftsFlorence, CO 81226719-784-0 775fax 719-7 84-9, 52djsfiberc rafts@:earthlink.net

DoubleK DiamondFiberWellington, CO 80549970-568- ,747fax 970-568-0716kkd@oneimage.com

Green ValleyWeaversColorado Srrings, CO 80904800-457-8559, 719-448-996 ,

The Recycled LambLakewood, co 802 15, O,-2)4.9B7recydedlambraqwest.ne twww.recydedTamb.com

Shuttles, Spindles& SkeinsBoulder, CO 80,05800-28 ,-416, , 0).494-1071www.shanksspndlesardskers.com

Table Rock LlamasFiber Arts SrudioColorado Springs, CO 80908719-495-7747fax 719-495-5924tablerockllamasfq msn.comwww. tabletccklla mas .rcm

CONNECTICUTWorking Handsfor FiberArtsEasmn, er 0661 220)-26 1-7865bgpphurley@sbcglobal.ner

IDAHOThe Sheep ShedNampa, ID 8, 687208-466-4,65sheepshed@bigplanet.com

ILLINOISFine Line CA CenrerSt. Cha rles , IL 601 75630-584-9443fax 6)0-584-9490finelineCA@:aol.comwww.finelineCA.org

The FoldMarengo,IL 601 52815-568-5)20fax 8[5-568-5)42thefold@: me.netwww.handspinnmg.ccmfthefold

INDIANASheep Street Fibers, Inc.Martinsville , IN 46151812-597-5648fax 812-597-5788sheepst@scican.netwww.sheepstreet.rom

Trading Post forFiber };rtsPendletcn, IN 46064765-778-,642fax 765-778-6911tradingpostfiber@ aol. cornwww.tradingpostliber.com

IOWARose Tree Fiber ShopAmes, lA 500145[5-292-7076reset ree @rnidiowa.ne t

KANSASYarn Barn of KansasLawrence, KS 66044800-468-00 35fax 785-842-0794yarnbarn@sunflower.comeww.yarnbam-ks.com

KENTUCKYDesigns in Textilesl.ouisville, KY 4020,502-212-7500fax 502-212-7504info@designsintex tiles,comwww.designsinresoles.com

MAINEHalcyon YarnBath, ME 045)0800-34 1-028 2fax 207-442-06 Bservicera hakyonyarn.comwww.ha!cyonyarn.com

MARYLANDThe Drafting ZoneBowie, MD 20715, OI-464-5B8lohra@aol.com

Forestheart StudioWoodsboro, MD 2[798(near Frederick), 01-485-4447owner@forestheart.comwww.fores theart.com

Vulcan's Rest FibersChesapeake City, :\ol D 21915410-8"85-2890info@vulca os rest.comwww.vulcansres t.com

MICHIGANEwe-nique KnitsRoyal Oak, MI 4806724 8-584-,,00[eweniq uek nils@sbcglobal.net

Hetitag; Spinning& WeavIngLake Orion} MI 48,,6224R-693-MOinfo@heritagespinning.comwww.heriragespinning.com

Spinning LofrHowell, MI 4884"51 7-540-1)44www.spinninglcfr.us

MINNESOTAAr Loose EndsPerham, MN 565 B218-346-YAR~ (927 6) & faxatloosetnds@al'vig.netwww.atloeseends.com

Creative FibersMinneapolis, .MN 554[9612-927-8,,07fax 612-927-5428bonny@ CreativeFibers ,omwww.CreativeFibers.com

Detta's SpindleMaple Plain, MN 55 359877-640-161 276,,-479-16 12dettm pindle@yahoo.comwww.dertaaSpindle.com

Yesterday's CraftsAvon, MN 56 310,,20-746-2)07J20-156-76~8baaahacres(g msn.corn

MISSOURICarol Leig],'sHillcreek'Fiber SrudioColumbia, MO 6520"800-874-9,2857-'-874-22 Bhkrkfiber@'aoLcomwww.hillcreekfiberstudio.com

Weaving Depr/Myers HouseElonssant, :\010 6-'0" I(near St. Louis)866-921-7800H4-921-7800weavdep@aoLcom

Wool Ridge)ampesporl, MO 64648666-684-667 7

MONTANAWillows & WoolCorva!lis , Mt 59828406-961-3582fax 406-961-14 Bfishmontana @msn.com

The Yarn ShopBozeman, MT 597 [5866-585-83 35406-SSS-8llSba rb@bozema nyarnshop.combozerna nyarnshop.com

NEBRASKAThe Plum NellyHastings, NE 6890 1402-462-2490PlurnNeJl,'@alltel.net

NEW YORKThe Yarn TreeBrooklvn, NY 1121 1718-"S4.80,,0info@then rntree.comwww.the .:arntree.com

OHIOConover WorkshopsParkman, OH 44080440-548-3491Fax 440-548-2721info@conoverworkshops.comwwwoconoverworkshops.com

OREGONThe Web-stersAshland, OR 97520800-482-9801fax 541-488-8 318websterslg mied. netwww.yarnatwebsters.com

Woodland WoolworksCarIton, OR 97[1[800-547-,, 72550H52-B76info@woolworks.comwww .woolwork s.com

PENNSYLVANIAKnitters UndergroundCentre Hall, PA 16828800-69,,-7242Fax 877-474-0027yarnshop@aoLcomww w.knirrers'undergrouod.com

Labadie LoomsBird-In-Hand, PA 17505717-291-8911lambobaa(ghot mail .com

The ManningsEast Berlin, PA IB I6800-2B -7166 - orders717-624-222 ,info@the-mannings.comwww.the-mannings.com

Sheepstone NaturalFibersDarlmgtcn, PA [6[ IS724-891-1429sheepstonerqmac.ccmwww .sheepstone.com

Sream ValleyFiber FarmI rout Run, PA 1777 [570-998-2221svmfiber@uplink.netwww .steamvalleyfiber.com

Twist Knittingand Spinning:';'ewHope, PA [8938215-862-8075dunbrad,'@verizon.net

TENNESSEEJane's Fiberand BeadsAfton (GreenviHe), TN , 7616888-497-2665fax 425-6 ,,8-5676ja ne@janesfiberandbeads.comwww.janesfiberand beaJs.com

Rainbow Yarn& FibresGermamo wn, I N ,,8 [,,890[-75)-98,,590[-757-8441spinnut@beJlsouth,netwww.rainbowfibres.com

Heritage ArtsGrandview, TX 760 5081 7-866-2 772heri tarts@aol.comher itageartstex as .com

Whire RockWeaving Center.Dallas, I X 75218214-,20 -YARN (92761whiteroekweaving @ao.comwww.whiterockweaving.com

UTAHThree Wishes FiberArcs ,LLCWesl )ordan, VI 8408480[-748-1881fax 80[-748-1882kwazimor0 56@yahoo.comwww.rhreewishesfibet.rom

VIRGINIAHolly Spring HomespunPowhatan, VA 2"139804-598-22,,2fax 804-598-556 3HollySpring@verizon.netwww.hullyspringhomespun.com

Misty Mountain FarmAmissville , VA 20106540-9 -'7-20[06infolQ mistymountainfram.comwww.mistymountain farm.com

Serendipity Farm& StudioSuffolk, VA 2HH757-986-10[0sheepman@gte.netwww.fibertoolsonlme.com

Stony Mountain FibersCharlonesville, VA 229 114H-195-2008 70,-880-7009barbara@sIOllylOOWltainfibers.comwww.ston•.mountainfibers.com

WASHINGTONNorthwest HandspunYarnsBeHingham, WA 98215,60-101-514 1Na ncy@l\WHandsfJUf!Yarm,cornwwwXWHandspunYarns.com

Paradise FibersSpoka ne, W/ A 99224888-,,20-SPIN(77 46)509-456-4345paradise fibers@yahoo.comwww.pafadisefibers.com

The Weaving WorksSeatt!e, WA 98105888-524-[221fax 206-524-0250weaviogworks@speakeasy.netwwv.weavingworks.com

WISCONSINApple Hollow FiberartsSturgeon Ba y, \XI I 542 ,5888-,24 -8 302schacht@appleho!low .comwww.applehollow.com

Bahr Creek Llamas/Fiber StudioCedar Grove, WI BOI)920-668-641 7demaster@ bahrcreek.comwww.bahrcreek.com

The Fiber GardenBlack River Falls, Wl 546[ 571 5-284.459071 5-299..Q264 (c)info@:fibergarden.comwww.flbergarden.com

Mielke's Fiber Arts,LLCR udol ~ h , \XII 544 75715-4:1 5-4494andrea rg mielkesfiberarts.comwww.mielkesfa rm.com

CANADAGaspereau ValleyFibresWolfviJle, NS MP 2N5877-lifibres (877-6.'4-27miulieiQ gaspereauvalleyfibres.corn

Gemini FibresMount Albert, ON LOG LMOROO-S64-9665fax 905-4 7).6544geminifibres@interhop.ne twww.geminifibres.com

Shurrleworks, Ltd.Dewinton (Calgary), AB,TOl OXO40 3-938-1099fax 40,-9,,8-1021ma il@shuttleworks.comwww.shuttleworks.com

GERMANYFriedrich TraubSchorndorfer Str. 180 -7-' 650 Wimerbach07181-70910fax 07181-709111www.naub-wolle.de

JAPANOribiro WeavingShop1-24-H, Uenoshiba-choSakai-s hi, Osaka 59.J.8?o010722-4 ,-6609fax 0722-4 , -6709shop@oribito.comwww.oribito.com

KOREAL.D.H. HandweavingFine Center191 -4 Chang Chung Dong 2-KAChung-Ku, Seoul, Korea02-21'66-0207fax 02-2272- 1-'78finecenter@hanmaiL net

UNITEDKINGDOMGeorge Wen& Sons, Ltd.1Old Portsmouth RdPeasmarsh, Guildford

USurrey

GV, ILZ, England, K(44) [48,-565800fax (44) i48 3-565807sa les@ fibrecraft s.co.uk

Scotsweave ofAberdeenThe ManseCha pel of Gariochlnverune, AberdeenshireAB51 5HE Scotland UK(44) [467-681527scctswea veofaberdeen@btinternet .com

28 I S PI N . 0 F F I www. 1 N T E R W E A V E . C 0 1'>1

ResponsiveVersatile

ComfortableBeautifully Crafted

A Delight to Spin On

•

MatchlessSingle Treadle

MatchlessDouble Treadle

S chachl-Reeves24" SIngle TreadleAsh : also available InCherry or Double Treadle

Schacht-Reeves30" Double TreadleCherry : a lso availablein Ash or Single Treadle

Sch uch t Spindle Com pH n y, I n c . ·61 0 1 B en Plac e· Bciutcrer. CO 8 0 301 - 303-4 42-32 12E m a il : In fo@s c h <,tch l s p i n d le .com Web : www.schachtsplnd le .com

SP R I N C 2006 1 S P I N · O F F I 2 9

esBASICS

SinSPINNING

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Plyin ChaineB Y D ODI E R U SH

ommonly known among spin-

~ ners as "Navajo-plying,' plying

chained singles produces a three-ply

yarn from a bobbin of singles yarn

and is accomplished by "chaining"

loops; each new loop is drawn

through the previous loop.' With this

technique, you can create three-ply

ya rn from one bobbin of singles

instead of three. You may be familiar

with chaining a warp for weaving,

creating a crochet chain, or making

a chain stitch in embroidery, but you

can't make a stable yarn just chain-

ing a strand of spun singles. The

chained singles need suffic ient twist

in the opposite direction to balance

the twist of the singles.

1 Though plying chained singles is normally re­ferred to as "Navajo-plying, " questions have beenraised about the origins of the term and whetheror not it is accurate. Plying chained singles is a de­scriptive term for making a three-ply yarn from asingles yarn.

If you 've spun a singles yarn from avariegated rovi ng or batt , you can pre­serve solid sect ions of color in the pliedyarn or gradually move from one calorto the next. Plying chained singles re­duces the length of a color sec t ion ofsingles yarn to one -th ird of the originallen gth. For example, to ply 5 inc hes ofcolor, you will need to spin 15 in ches

of singles in that color.

If you are trying this technique for the

fi rst time, you may want to practice withwaste yarn- a weaving or knitting mill­spun yarn o r crochet cotton- be foreus ing your precious handspun! Firstdeterm ine whether the yarn has beenspun S, the wheel turning to the left(counterclockwise), or Z, the wheel turn­ing to the right (clockwise), and then plyin the opposite direction.

A previewYour forward hand will pin ch off thetwist , guide it into the chained singles ,and roll the bumps created where theloops join . Your back hand will formthe loops.

Start by tying a yard-long leader tothe bobbin on the flyer spindle. Thread

the leader over the hooks and throughthe orifice . Double back the end of theleader to form a 5- inch loop and ti e aknot. Select a large whorl to give you alow twist ratio. This allows more contro l

~ as you practice the m ot ions. Hold theo

" leader and begin to t readle slowly. Check>

~ the pull on the leader as it is drawnu~ th ro ugh the orifice and winds onto the

~ bobbin. Adjust the ten sion for a slightly"o faster draw-in than you used when~

spinning the singles.Put the yarn bobbin onto a lazy kate.

I like to place the kate on the fl oorbetween my feet. Draw the end of theyarn up from the kate and fold it to forman 8-inch loop. Pass th e yarn loopthrough the leader loop (Figure 1). Pull

the yarn loop toward your body with yourback hand, ce nte r ing it over th e yarncoming from the kate. Pinch the junc­ture of the loops with the fi ngers of your

30 I S PI N . 0 F F I ww w. 1 N T E R W E A V E . C 0 j\J

forward hand, folding back 4 or 5 inch­es of the beginning of the loop (Figure2). There are four strands of yarn at thepinch, count ing the tail from the loop.

Use the thumb and little finger of yourback hand to spread and tension the two

sides of the loop (Figure 3). Pick up thest rand coming from the kate (the thirdply) with your ind ex finger (Figure 4) .

Begin to t readle slowly in the direc­tion opposite to wh ich the sing les yarnwas spun. Maintain equal tension on allthree plies with your spread fingers. Astwist builds up between the orifice andthe fin gers pinching at th e end of the

lead er, slide the pinch along the threestrands without allowing any one st randto twist around another (Figure 5). Stopsliding the pinch whe n 3 or 4 inch es ofloop remain (Figure 6). Move your handsforward toward the orifice to let the pliedyarn wind onto the flyer bobbin, and thenstop treadling (Figure 7). With the back

hand, pull the strand co ming from thekate through the loop to form the nextloop (Figure 8). Pick up the yarn com ­ing from the kate (third ply) with your

index finger (Figure 9). Resume tread­ling and guide the twist along the strands

(Figure 10). Repeat these motions. Withpracti ce you will be able to in creasespeed.

To tighten the bump form ed wherethe loops overlap, roll the join back andforth between the thumb and ind ex fin­ger of your forward hand. Rollin g thejoin lets in extra twist, minimizing thesize of the bump.

A three-ply yarn needs about th ree ­fourths of the twists per inch that wereput in the singles. If the sing les yarn hasnot been resting on the bobbin beforeplyin g, you can test the twist by letting12 to 15 inch es of plied yarn hang with­out tension between your hand and theorifice. You want a relaxed ya rn that

doesn't twist in either direction. How­ever, some of the twist energy has beenset if the singles yarn has been stored onthe bobbin for several hours or more. Ifso, to test for the amount of twist, takeabout 3 feet of the singles and fold the

ya rn to mak e 1 foot of three-ply, knotboth ends, and put it into wate r to allowthe twist ene rgies to balance. Match theply twist to this sample. Or, save a three­ply sam ple for comparison whe n spin­ning the singles.

Loops can be large or small. If you areplyin g yarn with color seque nces, watchfor the color changes. Adju st the loop

size to place colors whe re you would likethem to appear; pull more yarn from thekate to lengthen loops, or pull less tomake shorte r loops.

Treadle slowly to give your hands timeto form loops or adjust co lo rs . As youform loops, you may see thick or thinsect ions. Com pe nsate by altering the

S P R I N C 2006 I S PIN· 0 F F I 31

loop length ; place a thick sect ionbetween two thin st rands , or let threethin strands meet at the bump of joiningloops.

If your back hand finds manipulatingthe loops awkward , reversing hands may

help. As you become com fo rtable withthe motions, you ' ll develop a smoo th,faster treadling rhythm. To pause whileplying, keep the working loop open by

placing the sides of the loop around thehooks on the flyer, or put the loop overa knob. Wind the plied yarn onto a niddy­noddy and cut it free at the leader loop.

Pull out any unattach ed strands and t iea knot to prevent raveling, 16

DODlE RUSH learned to spin on a rented wheelwhen she attended her first SOAR (Spin-Off

Autumn Retreat) in 1990. She lives in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with her husband,Cory, who took the photos (or this article.

SourcesFournier, Nola, and Jane Fournier.ln Sheep's

Clothing. Loveland, Colorado:InterweavePress, 1995.

lrwin, Bobbie. The Spinners Companion.Loveland, Colorado: Interweave Press,2001.

32 I S PI N . 0 F F I WWW. 1 N T E R W E A V E . C 0 j\J

Spinning Wheels

Tom & Diane GoldingMcadowswcct Farm

849 Saxtans River RoadSaxtons River, VT 05154

1-800-710-1872www.dropspindle.info

"FloralSplendor"Single Flyer Model, Ratios up to 18:1

"Flockof the Shepherdess"Iriple Flyer Model, Ratios up 10 33:I

TM•I

Spindies Ihirty Iwo differenl spindles to choose from, offeringhand carved designs

lbeautiful solidwoods aswell as

several hand painted spindles. I

Drop

Precision Fiber Tools

Lazy Kote Ifor drop spindleplying

Accessories

Single Pointed Needles

WeavingShuNles

e tKniNing Needle (ose

Lazy Kate 11for spinningwheelplying

Lucets

• Innovative Constructionwitt: 58 scaled ball beariogsfor smooth operation

"SwanLake"Cherrywith Walnut, Maple, andPurpleheorl

36" Fuur HarnessJack LoomMal(hing Benthhas adjustable heightwith

four tilting positions

• 2 Piece Constructioneasilvassembled,

• lIandearved and builtone at a time

Floor Looms

Of and•

wrecNova Scotia's woolly history

BY KATE LANGAN

HEEP AND SHIPWRECKS have a long history in Nova Scotia, a storm or two longerthan that of sheep and foresters , and only a few years longer than that of sheep andfarmers.

341 S P IN - O F F I WWW.INTERWEAVE.CO J\1

!

Atlantic Ocean

Prince EdwardIsland

-p ;l , Ballantyne's~<

Cove:

•

• Port Mouton

NewBrunswick

- ..... t r .

. sco\ \7>. ~ ,

~o'''' ,,,u',,.....,A • Halifax

•

troduced to help increase the chances ofsurvival of the shipwrecked sailors . Themove was almost certainly in responseto one particularly sorry spring when thetownsfolk from the mainland had to burytwenty-one frozen bodies, one of whomwas crouche d over a pile of kindlingsticks holding a flint and stee l.

Spinning all dayA tapestry of more gentee l early nine­teenth-century life was woven by farmgirl Louisa CoIIins who wrote in her diaryduring October and November 1815:"Yesterday nothing happened worthy ofnotice. I was spinning all day. " "TodayI have been spinning nearly all day." "Idon't think I shall get rheumatism in myfingers for want of exerc ise, for I havebeen in my spinning room all day.. . . "Then at the end of the latter monthshe continued: "I have been sitt ing knit­ting near all day." "Housework and knit­ting have been most of my employmenttoday.... " She also picked berries, madewine, churned butter, and washedclothes, but the autumn months werededicated to processing wool from herfamily's flock of th irty sheep for the un­ending supply of mittens, socks, mufflers,and sweaters that her family required. Inth is light, it can be understood why Wai­ter Johnstone from Prince Edward Islandfelt the need to write letters advising En­glish famili es against emigrating, for inhis view "their women fr equently canspin neither flax, nor wool , and many areboth unable and unwilling to take the hoe."

Although Louisa marri ed a year laterand moved to town, leaving her farm

•

Port Mouton on the province's is land­dotted south shore got its name froman unlucky sheep that drowned in itswate rs, It is also where the first pair ofdomestic shee p land ed 400 years ago.Time-blurred details leave it unclear asto whether these two wethers were flockmates of the poor drowned creature and,therefore, missed out on immortality bythe sheer luck of survival. The three­some, however, launched the meteoricrise, by importation and natural instinct,

"~ in the population of sheep in Nova Sco-,~ tia to a stunning 400,000 by the tim e of<~ confederation in 1867.:: Sheep were a necessary commodityo~ in a province lapped by the tail end of theo~ cold Labrador Current during the long; inhospitable winters. Fishermen, farm-<~ ers, and lumbermen and their wives and: children who tended to the animals, the~ vegetable gardens, and all manner of do--e

-e mestic tasks, depended upon the animals"8 for survival. Oxfords, Shropshires, and~

~ Leicesters were the leading breeds irn-

~ ported by the British in the eighteenth>'" and nineteenth centuries and were ofteno

~ grazed offsho re, leaving an imprint of-6: their lives on place-nam es such as"~ Shearpen Neck, Mutton Islands, and Ram"< Island. On these island s, the restl ess~

-;:; ocean acted as fencing, natural predators<~ were limited to those on the wing, and" the nutrients in kelp made for piquant~> flavored meat and fin e crimped fleeces."< On the deadly Sea l Island and itsc

6 neighboring Mud Islands, sheep were in-"---'" c,

A Nova Scotian woman spinningon a great wheel.

Sheep grazing by the sea inBallantyne's Cove, N va Scotia.

S P R I N C 2 0 0 6 I S P I N· 0 F F I 35

Grand Banks fishing schooner, "Bluenose".

ResourcesMeClare, Dale, ed. The 181,5 Diary ofa Nova

Scotia Farm Girl: Louisa Collins ofColinGrove, Dartmouth. Dartmouth, Nova Sco­t ia: Brook House Press, 1997.

Perry, Zella.Sheep Shearing and Shipwrecks:Seal Island, Noua Scotia. Bible Hill, NovaScotla: Zella Perry, 1998.

Reid, Stanford, ed. The Scottish Tradition inCanada. Toronto: McClelland and Stew­art, 1976.

Zinck, Jack. Shipwrecks ofNova Scotia, Vo!.1. Hantsport, Nova Scotia: Lancelot Press,1975.

Statistics CanadaNova Scctia Agricultural College, www.nsac

.ns.ca .Nova Scotia Public Archives , www.gov.ns

.ca/nsarm.

The pedigree of the other wheel took somesleuthing, but eventually I determined thatit was an unsigned wheel made by John­ny or Frank You ng. This family madechairs from the 1840s that they sold for adollar apiece. Their wheels were relative­ly expensive at five dollars and had racyred and black bands painted on their legsand wheel rims. These two wheel makerswere not alone in this part of the world;there were at least a dozen mo re, andthere were also many homemade walkingwheels in use. One Prince Edward Islandmaker numbered all of his wheels, andwheels with numbers higher than 600have been found.

None of these fa milies make wheelstoday, however, and there are only 13,400sheep roaming the province, includingScottish Blackface, North Country Cheviot,Hexham Leicester, and Clun Forest. Theewes at Cole Harbour Heritage Farm fromwhom I get my annual stash of fl eece arebetter known, however, as Wiggles, Olive,Pippi Longstocking, and so on; they area hybrid fl ock and are typical of all but 5percent of the province's sheep popula­tion. From their locks, I make warm,sturdy sweaters, mitts, and fe lted slippersfor my active family, just as Louisa andthousands of other women have over the400 years since the fi rst two wetherslanded in Port Mouton. \Si

KATE LANGAN spins and writes in Dartmouth,

Nova Scotia, Canada.

Learn more about the photographer,Wallace R. MacAskill (1887-1956), athttp:/ /www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm/virtual/macaskill/essay.asp?La ng ua9e-En9Iish.

Wallace R. MacAsl<il1

waterwheel is the third one inuse since the mill opened in1860.

Wheel makersIn my own workshop, beside 1870sitinerant weavers' heddles, si t two antiquespinning wheels, an unsigned Young anda signed Macintosh, crafted by two of theprovince's better known wheel makers.Alexander Macintosh lived and worked inPictou County, where the fi rst Scottish im­migrants landed in 1773. The earliest ver­sion of his Scottish style double-drive beltwheel is dated 1809, and his son is knownto have worked until the 1870s. My wheelis a beautifully balanced creature built byl.S. Macintosh, the son, and is dated 1814.

Woolen underwearIn 1870, Charles Stanfie ldopened the Truro WoollenMill, the fi rst knitting mill inCanada . A consummate in­vento r, Cha rles made somewaves in the underwear busi­ness with his famous "dropseat" long johns, but it wasonly when his sons invented

2!"----,. shri nk-proof wool and corn--- bined it with the ir fa the r's"drop seat" that they were- inked indelibly into history.The Klondike Trail of 1898, ahousehold nam e thanks to

Jack London, made the little Nova Scotiacompany fa mous; barely a man with theglint of gold in his eye left civilizationwithout warm, heavy, woolen Stanfie ld'sunderwear. There are old, grainy, black­an d-white photos of st rings of themstripped down to this underwear as theystruggle up Chi lkoot Pass with 700pounds of gear and winter closing in fast.Stanfie ld's Woollen Mill is st ill in busi­ness, 135 years later.

--- ---.

I

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work beh ind , the gene rations of ruralwomen who remained would have beenthrilled at the colony's burgeoning en­trepreneurial spirit. Farsighted bus i­nessmen were striving to overcome theeconomic and legislative obstacles of set­ting up textile industries. The home gov­ernment in Britain preferred to have theresource-rich colonies dependent uponit for the ir textile needs, ther eby bol­ste ring its own powerful industry. Per­severance was required in the outpostsof the British Empire and the success isevident in the fact that forty- five yearslater Nova Scotia boasted seventy-sevencarding mills and numerous weavingmills, and the new country's first knit­ting mill was gearing up. The itinerantweavers, who in the old Scottis h stylewould travel between isolated homes car­rying th eir heddles and beate rs, wererapidly being put out of business.

Glimpses of this busy time have beenpreserved for us to enjoy. On display atthe Barrington Woollen Mill are exam­ples of the spinning jacks and water-pow­ered looms that broke the shackles of theold country. The Wile Carding Mill, inBridgewater, still operates as a summerattrac t ion, using the origi na l picking,carding, and batting machines that cutthe women's work of a week down to onehour. The seven-horsepower overshot

-

36 I S PI N . 0 F F I WW W. 1 N T E R W E A V E . C 0 j\J

Quality spinning tools since 1976

I

,

The Lendrum folding w heel is the ideal first w heel be­

cause it is easy to learn on and you w ill never outgrow

it. The smooth balanced double treadle action is as easy

as pedaling a bicycle and w ill let you spin for hours. The

regular flyer that comes w ith the w heel is the right speed

to get started, not too fast and not too slow. Later. as

your skills increase, you can buy other flyers and heads

that w ill do any kind of spinning that you can imagine.

This w heel has the w idest range of flyer speeds available,

from 5 up to 44 . This w heel has scotch tension w hich is

the easiest system to adj ust. The rubber drive band sets

its own tension so you don't need to bother w ith it. You

simply adj ust the brake to have the thread pull in the

way you want it.

We use hard maple to build this w heel and finish it

w ith acrylic lacquer to insure a long and reliable life.When you are ready for a dream w heel ---......

our saxony is worth dreaming about. It is

available in your choice of w alnut. cherry

or maple and it is sold unfinished so you

can finish it to match its new home.

Don't let the good looks fool you! This

is very much a working w heel. When you

first sit to spin you w ill feel like you don't

need to treadle because the big w heel

goes by itself. You have your choice of

either a double drive head or a scotch

tension head . We can build your w heel

w ith the head on the left or on the right

to suit the way you spin.

LENDRUM403 Millhaven Rd. Odessa ON Canada KOH 2HO

gord@'endrum.ca /613) 386-7151 http://www.lendrum.ca

Why do we call it a folding wheel?Because it folds as easy as 1, 2, 3.

J Unscrew the hand knob and pull it out.

2 Gently lower the frame down to the floor.

3 Screw the hand knob into the other hole.

LENDRUM

In 14 seconds th ewheel is ready to goin the car or underthe bed .

Where to find one?These wheels are sold by local craft stores throughout Canada and the USA.You can find them at the dealers below or check our website for a complete list.http://www.lendrum.caPams Wooly Shop5107 50th St .Stoney Plain, AB T7Z 1TS(7801 963-1559(8881 563-1559

Homespun Haven4165 Round Prairie Rd .Armstrong. BC VOE 184{lSO' 546-3224

Sun Bench Fibres#1-8979 Broadway St.Chilliwack. BC Vlr SV9

Honeysuckle Fibre Arts9600 Tliird St.Sidney. BC vst, 2Z9(2501656-4201

Gemini FibersRRIMount Albert. ON lOG I MOfBOOI 564-9665geminifibres@interhop.net

The Yarn SourceRR1, 2661 Hwy_62Bloomfield, ON KOK 1GOf6131393-2899

Fiber Factory150 W . MainMesa, AZ 85201f4801 969-4346

Southwest CornerPO Box 418Bisbee. AZ 85201f5201642-3603jsruane@aol.com

Carolina Homespun455 Lisbon St .San Francisco. CA 941 12(8001450-7786www.carolinahomespun.com

Village Spinning &Weaving Shop425-B Alisal Rd .Solvang. CA 93463(8051686-1192f8881 686-1192

Bountiful211 Green Mountain Dr.Livermore. CO 80536(9701 482-7746toll-free (877) 586-9332bountiful®earthlink.netwww.bountifulspinweave.com

Shuttles Spindles &Skeins635 S. Broadway, Unit EBoulder. CO 8030313031 494-1071

Sylvie COX2A825 Fairwa.Y Dr.Buena Vista. cO 8121 I(7191395-2542

Haneke Wool Fashions630 N . Blackcat Rd.Meridian. ID 83642(2081 888-3129(2081 888-2776 fax

The Fold3316 Millstream Rd .Marengo. IL 60152(8151568-5320mamxssewprocnqy.ccm

French Hill FarmPO Box 82Solon. ME 04979(2071 643-2540

WebsPO Box 147Northampton. MA 01061(8001 367-9327http://www.yarn.com

Maple Row Farm1051) C1ine Rd .Sherwood. MI 49089(5171741 -7434

Dettas Spindle2592 Geggen-Tina Rd .Maple Plain. MN 55359(7631479-1612(8771640-1612DettaS®aol.comwww.dettasspindle.com

The Fiber Studio9 Foster Hill Rd . Box 637Henniker. NH 0324216031 428-7830www.fiberstudio.com

The Wool Room atMeadow Brool( Farm218 Pleasant St .Antrim. NH 0344016031 588-6637

I<athr.yn Alexander1302 Jolmsonville Rd .Jcrmscnvnre. NY 1209415181 753-4094kathalex@f1ash .net

Limekill EnterprisesRD#1 Box 146 Richard Rd .Schoharie. NY 1215715181827-4615

Sheep and Wool Shop4849 C::orY CornersMarion. NY 1450513151 926-5765

The Wool Room172 Joes Hill Rd.Brewster. NY 1050918451 279-7627www.woolroom.com

Jehovah Raah Farm204 Dogwood Rd .Candler. NC 2871 518281 665-2242

The Little House1927 N . Main St.Clyde. OH 4341014191547-921018001554-7973www.littlehousespinning.com

Woodland Woolworks100 E. WashingtonCarlton. OR 9711115031852-737618001 547-3725

Mannings1132 Green Ridge Rd .PO Box 687East Berlin. PA 173 I 618001233-7166http://www.the-mannings.com

Jane's Fiber and Beads5415 E. Andrew Johnston HWy.Afton. TN 37616f4231639-7919(8881 497-2665janesfiberandbeads.com

Suzanne Roddy123 Tumbleweed TrailFredericksburg. TX 78624f8301 990-4629

Tralfamadore Farmand Studio15030 N . Mountain Rd .Broadway. VA 22815(5401896-7639

Serendipity Farm980 Cypress Chapel Rd .Suffolk. VA 23434(7511 986-2010e-mail: sheepman.gte.net

Springwater FiberWorkshop820 N . Fair{ax St .Alexandria. VA 22314(7031 549-3634

Paradise Fibers919 W . Paradise Rd.Spokane. WA 99224f8881320-7746

The Weaving Works4717 BrookjynAve. NEseatne. WA 98105(2061 524-1221f8881524-1221

Susans Fiber ShopN250 HwyAColumbus. WI 53925f9201623-4237

P&M WoolcraftPindon End CottagePindon End. HanslopeMilton Keynes UI<01908510277

S P R I N C 2 0 0 6 I S PIN . 0 F F I 39

Whenever I teach, I arrive early andarrange the chairs in a wide circle. Spin­dl es are placed in front of eac h cha iralong with eight ounces of good-qualityfleece and flickers for preparing the fiber.I have everything ready fifteen minutesbefore class begins. Then I sit and spina few yards. Almost as soon as I begin totreadle I move into the center of myself,the tensions of my day slip away. As mystudents arrive, I touch each one insome unobtrusive way-a palm pressedagainst a shoulde r. It's important t oremember everyone's name. I introducethem to each other and ask them aboutthemselves . I sugges t they begin pre­paring their fl eece as we talk and showthem how.

To teach is to have power. When wedecide to learn something new, we areoff balan ce. I've had teachers who havehelped me learn the subject matter.Then, there are those exceptional teach­ers who have left me feeling good aboutmyself. Th e teacher has the power toharm or heal. I've see n a teacher bringa student to tears, pronouncing h erincapabl e of learn ing this relativelys imple skill. In th e role of a teacher,everything we say has a bigger impactthan we realize.

Some teachers have not healed thewou nds they received whe n they werestudents . Now, as teachers, they use theirpower to hurt their pupils. Othe rs mayuse humor they think is funn y, but infact it is humiliating. And others are sim­ply not aware of when they need to cri­tique and when support is required. Anda few always praise one or two studentswithout realizing others are losing heart.

I most enjoy teaching beginners.Many of them stared spellbound at fairswatching as dem onstrators sat treadlingblissfully. My students want to be thatwoman in the dirndl dress. Their expec­tation is a burden on me but an evenbigger one for them. Fear slips ove rthem like cold metal armor. And the

PH OT OS C O URTE SY O F THE A UTH OR.

Randy Chelsey leaching spinni ng at the Gold­en Fleece Shop in Santa Cruz, California.

Learning about students and myselfB Y R A ND Y C IIE LS E Y

STUDENT HAD BEEN INVITED to t each a spin n ing class a nd asked

m e for gu ida nce. "First of a ll." I to ld h er, "be proficient." Un less the

knowledge has become incorporated into the very cells of h er fin gers,

I gua ran tee her that as she stan ds in front of this group, she wi ll spin worse

than she has ever spu n in h er life . It is one thing to spin at h ome; it 's some­

thing else to stan d in front of people who are sta r ing at every m ovement yo u

make. She had five months, plenty of t ime, t o gain profi ciency. I suggested

that she spin an hour every day.

40 I S P I N· O F F I WWW.INTERWEAVE.CO J\1

mind sta rts to cycle through doubts­"Can I do it? Of co urse I can ' t . Whatmadness made me think I co uld? Andnow I've got this wheel that cos tshundreds of dollars and classes paid forand oh-my-goodness!"

I tell my students, "Everybody learns."I use ge ntle humor, and when I gen tlymove to the cente r of the ir fear and puta name on it, they lau gh. With thelau ghter, they begin to breathe and th eirfears start to dissipate. The conce rn thatthey will be the only one who doesn 'tlearn diminishes.

Watching each new stude nt learn

fascinates me. The way each of themapproac hes life is reveal ed in theirbeginner movemen ts. I can usually tellhow they will spin by the way they enterthe room. And with t h is knowledgeco mes responsibility. I must co me tothem tende rly , ce lebra t ing sma ll suc­cesses, offering ge nt le co rrec ti ons. Asthey relax, their fingers learn to listen to

the fiber and respond. When they get it ,a glee ful exp ress ion cove rs their facesand they let loose with an unrestrained"hoo ray!" I've seen the m ost sedatestudents leap in the air.

A few students open immediate ly tothe wool in their hands. They are awaketo the fee l of fibers moving, sliding

through their fingers. These people movefrom a qui et place inside themselves.

Some students can 't let go. They be­lieve th e cur led mass g ripped in theirsweaty palm is an inanimate ent ity that

must be forced into yarn. They use theirfingers to twist the wool, not able to sur­render to the process. As more and moretw ist is inserted they wonde r why it 'soverspun. These people are survivo rs.

They've had to make their lives happenthrough sheer effort, sometimes agains timpossibl e odds.

Still othe rs hold themselves back andaway; the yarn thins and breaks as the

spindle drops aga in and again. The fiberdrifts th rough the ir fingers. They don'trealize they are in charge. They haven'tacce pted that they belong at the cente rof their activ ity.

S P R I N C 2006 I S PI N· 0 F F I 41

And then there are those who need ascient ific explanat ion of how hard totwist and how often. I offer a few facts;they are afraid to proceed without num­bers. These people are often "A" students.They've learned to rely on their excellentminds to find their way through new sit­uat ions. Othe r ways of knowing havetaken a back seat.

In learni ng to spin , a healing takesplace that permeates every part of a per­son's life. If s impossible to isolate onearea. The controllers have learned to letgo a little, the drifters learn to hold on,and the academics remember other waysof knowing.

It's only with practice that new spin­ners improve. Most do. But a few spendtheir time trying to smooth alreadyformed yarn. "It's like life," [ tell them,

"you can't undo the past: 'Everyone learns at different rates and

can benefit by having things brokendown and explained again, but there arealways students who catch on right away.As a teacher, I need to balance the ex­ci tement of the quick learners with sup­port for those who need more time.When [ was learning to spin, [ was veryslow to catch on. 1had never held fi beror tools before learning to spin, not evena hammer. It took me longer to under­stand the process of turning raw fleeceinto yarn than it did for any student thatI've eve r instructed. If I had been ig­nored, or ifanyone had been curt or toobusy to help me when [ was learn ing, Iprobably would never have returned tospinning, but fortunately, I had a won­derfully warm teacher, Lou Grantham.

After twenty-five years of teaching, Ican stand by a struggling student andfe el what she or he needs. It may be asuggest ion about technique. Or that Inotice her holding her breath. 1tell herto "breathe" and see the rhythm of herrespiration transfer to her hands, and theyarn becomes smooth. Sometimes Isuggest that she stop thinking and justdo it, or "slow down, there's no need torush," or that perhaps ifs time to walkaway and take a break.

I've watched two women sitting sideby side spinning and producing the sameuneven, full-of-slubs yarn. One of themwas ecstatic that the yarn was hold ingtogether, the other was miserable that itwas not perfect. And I realized that thedifference was in their perceptions andtheir expectations of themselves.

Some students comment to them­selves on their progress. These utteringsusually have no relation to how we llthey're actually doing. Once, I had a newstudent who I thought learned quickly.But as she treadled , I heard her mutter­ing, "Stupid, never get it, that's not right"while she was spinning close to perfectyarn. It made me wonder, "Whose voiceis that?" We can be so hard on ourselvesin a way we would never be towardanother.

Having access into the places wherepeople judge themselves is a big respon­sibility. [ am aware that I can hurt themin their tentative reaching out to learnsomethi ng new. I seek guidance toremember that when a student annoysme (and some dol, if s almost always be­cause she reminds me of myself as a newlearner, and that makes me want to run.When [ am aware of this, [ become moreaccepting ofboth my student and myself.As I help the student, [ hear my ownwords and find myself soothed. I becomemy own teacher. 'oS

RANDY CUELSEY spins, knits, andueaoes andteaches these arts in a small village on the

Califomia coast. She is currently writing a bookon art. craft . andspirituality.

42 I S I' I N · 0 F F I w w W . I N T E R W E A V E . C 0 f.l

SP R I N C 2006 1 S P 1 N OF F 43

The yarn forthese bootieswas designedfor bothcomfort andappearance.Merike spuna 2·ply lO'

I (50% coiton,and 50%wool) usinga long-drawtechnique.

,,

thro ugh several seasons ei ther learn todarn (see page 96), learn to knit socks withheels, toes, and/or soles that can be easi­ly replaced, or learn to spin a durable yarnwith the comfo rt and appearance factorsin appropriate proportions.

While fib ers that have an inherentdurability fa ctor are usually either in­elastic or coarse (or both), careful selec­tion and blending of these with fibers forcomfort can ensure a yarn suitable for thedurable, comfortable sock. Another op­tion is spinning each fibe r separately intoa fine singles and then plying them to­gether. If inelastic fibers are used by them­selves (for instance, a cottonlTencel blendor an alpaca/silk blend), choose to spinthem into a fine very high-twist singles,then ply into a balanced three- or four­ply yarn. This will provide elasticity to theyarn that contributes greatly to the over­all comfort of the sock.

To blend or to ply?While the appearance of a blended fiberyarn is different from that of a yarn offibers spun separately, then plied togeth­er, the difference is much less significantwith fine ly spun yarn, especially whenknitted into socks and viewed from atleast five fee t away! But the decision toei ther blend or ply needs to be made. Ofprimary importance is the length of the

ComfortThe comfort facto r of the sock certain­ly depends on how well it fits, but thecomfort factor of the yarn itself con­tributes to how well it feels on the foot.No matter how perfectly the sock fits, itwill not be comfortable if the yarn hasany degree of coarse guard hairs, hardslubs, or excess twist to the point ofwiri­ness. The comfort factor of the yarn alsodepends on the comb ination of fiberselection, prepa rat ion , and spinningtechn ique.

DurabilityDurabil ity is the one factor that is of primeimportance to some, a negligible fa ctorfor others, and a mystery to many. Thosewho expect their handspun, handknitsocks to be worn regularly and last at least

AppearanceThe easiest factor to control is appear­ance. While the appearance factor is, inlarge part, controlled by the knittingpattern used, it is still something toconsider in fib er selection, preparation,and spinning. In select ing fibers, con­sider the color, luster, and texture. Colorcan be either the natural color of thefib er or dyed. Blending different colors(or shades, tones, or hues of the color)can dramatically enhance the overall ap­pearance of the color. Lustrous fib ersspun worsted can provide greater stitchdefinition in an intricat e pattern andmake colors glow more. Blending somelustrous fibers with non-lustrous ones isan option here; for instance, consider aMerinolsilk blend. Slubby, nubbly, high­ly textured yarns often aren't durable andcertainly are not comfo rtable underfoot,but they look fabulous in the cuff or asboot toppers or leg warmers.

For instance, if you're knitting a pairof bed socks for a bed- or wheelchair­bound friend, durability is not much ofan issue compared to comfort. Here youcan choose to prepare and spin a Merino/angora blend or almost any lower-twistwoolen yarn that is soft, warm, and comfy.

Ahardworking farmer's boot socks needto be durable and comfortable and just ashardworking as the farmer. Worsted­weight woolen yarn will give more cush­ioning in boots than a fi ner sportweightyarn. I've learned that my husband's fa ­vorite boot socks are ones I knitted fromwoolen yarn and then fulled slightly. Thefulli ng provides addi tional durability.

Then there are those fancy show-offsocks- the ones you'll wear with sandalsor clogs to demonstrat e your creativepatterning skills, or the dressier ones ofdelicate lace, or the ones with the beadedsilk boucle cuffs . Here, of course, appear­ance (consider color, texture, weight ofyarn, and Qual ity of the spinning andkni tting) is Qui te important. But the fac­tors of comfort and at least some dura­bili ty still need to be taken into consid­eration, if only for heels, toes, and solesof the socks. A dash of glitzy, sparklynylon blended into almost any other fiberprovides both a showy presentation andadditional durability.

There are specialty socks, too-fulledslipper socks, baby booties, legwarmers,and Christmas stockings, to name a few.

And, of course, there are those socksthat will be worn on a regu lar basis­with your jeans, jumpers, out in the gar­den, or walking the dog. Aseriously bal­anced set of factors ofdurability, comfort,and appearance is important here. Alwaysremember that the three factors can becombined in varyi ng proportions In

different parts of the sock.

HERE ARE THREE PRIMARY FACTORS to be considered when selecting,

preparing, and spinning fibers for sock yarns: appearance, comfort, and dura­

bil ity. The proportion of each of these fac tors depends on the end use of the

socks. Though all three factors also come into play during the knitting process (choos­

ing a pattern, knitting to fit , etc.), starting with the right kind of yarn can really make

the difference in whether the sock succeeds in its purpose.

S PR ING 2 () l) li l S I' IN · O F F I 4 5

o

­....• •--•

•­,

•

"

,

•I} Angora/wool blend : spun by plying two strands of fine wool singles and introducing angora fiber into the plying triangle as it is plied.2) Estonian Island sheep wool carded and spun with a modified long-draw for a 3-ply yarn. 3) Superwash Merino dyed in the microwave.4) Avariety of silks blended with dyed kid mohair (3·ply). 5) Alpaca blended with dyed mohair and silk noil (2·ply). 6) Overdyed alpacaand silk (2-ply).

selected fibers. When spinning a blend ofshort and long fibers, great care must betaken to avoid having the short fibers leftbehind while the longer fibers are draft­ed with the short draw. An 8-inch staplelength of second clip mohair blended witha 4-inch staple length of lamb's wool canresult in an uneven mix of the two in theyarn. The different fib er diameters canalso cause problems. However, a three­ply yarn consisting of two of lamb's wooland one of mohair will be much moreconsistent. Blending silk with fine woolprovides a lovely, comfo rtable yarn thatis more durable than fine wool alone.There are many very nice commerciallyprepared silk/wool blends available. I havefound the simplest way to blend my ownis to start with silk caps or hankies,stretch them out, then cut the silk to thesame length as the fiber I'll blend it with.

Since the durability factor signifiesthe potential longevity of the sock, thenthe shrinkage potential of the sock mustalso be considered. From what I've wit­nessed whe n I sold yarn , superwashwools' have recently contributed to theresurgence in popularity of knittin gsocks. Many of us have experienced theheartbreak of finding lovingly handspun,handknit socks among machine-washed,tumble-dried laundry, full ed to the pointof total inelasticity so that even a footsmall enough to fit the shrunken sockcan't get past the cuff. This isn't an issue

if you can have total control of the careof the socks. But, if spinning and knit­ting them for others who might not belikely to provide the care they most cer­tainly deserve (or ifyour own "handwashonly" pile starts collecting dust ), thenfiber selection should include those fibersthat can withstand the washing machine.While superwash wool fib ers and blendsare available commerc ially, there arewool fib ers that won't felt. Many of thedown sheep breeds provide felting-resis­tant wool that, carded and spun woolen,results in a soft, cushy yarn that may fullslightly but will not shrink. Cons iderblending this wool with nylon, mohair,silk, Iyocell, Ecospun, or other fibers thatcontribute durability to the yarn.

When you consider that a woolen, low­twist yarn is ideal for full ing, then the op­posite holds true as well. A non-sup er­wash Merino fiber spun worsted from acombed top preparation into a high-twistyarn , then knitted tightly, will have agreater tolerance for machine washing .If you also blend wool with silk, Lyocell,or nylon, you'll add greater durability andhave even less likelihood of shrinking.

Preparation tipsTo make a soft, lofty, warm woolen yarn,

1 Superwash wools have been chemically treatedto remove the scales that allow wool to becomepermanently interlocked with the application ofhot water, soap, and agitation.

prepare fibers by handcarding rolags orroll drumcarded batts into rolags, If youcarded a blend of fib ers that aren't uni­form in length, carefully predraft the ro­lags (or batts) into a roving that retainsa consistent proportion of the fibers used.

To make a strong, smooth, lustrouswors ted yarn , I prefer to first card thefibers together on my drumcarder to geta consistent blend. Then I pull the card­ed batt int o lengthwise strips, lash theblend onto my Louet Dutch comb thatclamps to my table, and pull my fib ersinto a top. If the blended fibers aren't uni­form in length, combing or hackling isnot an option since all of the longer fiberswill be pulled out first. In this case, I spinfrom the carefully predrafted lengthwisestrips of the drumcarded fibers,

Another benefit to preparing your ownfibers for sock yarns is that you can con­trol the proportions of blended fibers. Forinstance, you can use superwash Merinofor the cuff and foot but prepare a blendof thi s Merino with nylon, silk, mohair,or other durabili ty-enhancing fiber forthe heel and toe. Ideally, you' ll use theheel yarn in a sock pattern that allows foreither an afterthought heel or any heelconstruction where this yarn will stayboth behind and under the heel withoutbeing knitted over the top of the foot.

Sampling and swatchingSpin sample yarns and then knit swatch-

46 I S PI N . 0 F F I WWW. 1 N T E R W E A V E . C 0 j\J

es using the stitch pattern intended forthe sock. Sta rt by spinning at least 3 to5 yards of yarn . Make several prepara­tions (diffe rent proportions of blendedfibers or different fibers) and spin them,perhaps some as two-ply, some as three­or four-ply. Rememb er to record yourpreparation and spinning methods. Thenknit your samples in the round , usingthe size needles and stitch pattern youwould for the sock, separating each sam­ple section by knitting a round of stock­inette with a synthetic or nonshrinkingcotton yarn. Measure the swatch or markoff a 2-by-2-inch square with waste yarn

so that you can calculate the percentageof shrinkage. Wash your sampler tube asyou would the socks. Once it has dried,you'l l have an excellent indication of howyour socks will look, feel, and withstandyour washing method. Their durabilitywill become evident in time.

One way to test for durability is to pre­pare a sample skein and use that yarn todarn the worn areas of your favoritehandknit socks. While it may take sometime to get the results of this test, it is agood durability indicator in the long run.

So after all that, what makes the per­fect sock yarn? My favorite answer always

starts with, "It depends... ." This time,my answer is, "It depends on the purposeof the sock and your selection of fibers,processing, and spinning methods thatresult in your choice of propo rt ions ofthe factors of appearance, comfort, anddu rability." Sampling and record keep­ing will soon reveal what factors provideyour ideal socks. §)

MERIKE SAARNIIT ofMeadows ofDan, Virginia,

teaches spinning, weaving, knitting, and dyeingworkshops across the country as well as

in Estonia. You 'll find her teaching scheduleand other patterns she's publishedon

her webs/le at www./iisu.com.

-

•

Dane's Fancy Foot Socksmade from Bluefaced

Leicester, kidmohair, Shetlandwool, alpaca, andMerino all spunsemi-worsted for

2-ply yarns.

Durability is the mostimportant factor in theserubber-boot liners. Lincoln andLincoln-cross wool carded, then spunseml-woolen with a low twist for a2·ply yarn.

For her Spring Socks Merike spun a3-ply yarn for the loe and heel madelrom Tucsel (50%cotton, 2S%lussahsilk, 25% Lyocell), then spun a 3-plyyarn for the instep from Silver

Lining (50%cotton, 50%grayIleece), and spun a 3-ply yarnlrom Golden Fleece (50%organ-

ic brown cotton and 50%wool) for the cuff.

All the fibersare from

NewWorldTextiles.

Three-ply yarncreated with1 strand ofsuperwash Merino,1 strand of silk,and 1 strand of amohair/ Coopworthblend. The cuff wasembellished withFrench knots incochineal-dyed silk. (

-S P R I N C 2006 I S P I N· 0 F F I 47

resserweavenera t eonver

Hand Felted Jewelry and Beads25 Artful DesignsCarol Huber Cyper

Felt-bead jewelry is fashionable! It's showing up on runways, specialty

stores, and galleries around the globe. Hand Felted /eweIry and Beadsoffers a contemporary and artisticapproach to this popular craft-andthen takes it a step beyond throughbeaded embellishment. No other hand­felting book is as comprehensive, as

Hand Pelted /ewelry and Beads includesboth needle-felting and wet-feltmakingtechniques covering flat , flat with aresist, 3-dimensional, use of armaturesand mediums, color, inclusions, shape,

and texture. And, these techniques aretaught step-by-step in a friendly and accessible manner through thecreation of beautiful objects of personal adorn me nt. You'll learn how

to make the felted equivalent oflampworked beads, turquoise focal

beads, mokume gane look-alikes, and so much more. Try your hand

at th e Carved and Beaded Bangle, the unforgettable Flower Lariat,

Compositions in Felt and Glass (st ru ng necklaces and bracelets), or

th e imaginative Felted Bead Diva's Necklace. The first-time felter willbe guided into this creative and fulfilling fiber art while th e seasoned

feltmaker will find inspiration , new tips and tricks to add to th eir

repertoire; everyone will relish the gallery of inspirational pieces.

Let your imagination soa r and get felting!

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•2006

One Skein3D Quick Projects to Knit and Crochet.Leigh Radford

Everyone has the time to spend on projects requiring only one skein ...so don't miss out on the fun! One Skein features more tha n 30 knit­ting and crochet projects that range in size, time commitment, andexperience level, providing both beginning and experienced knittersa variety of projects from which to choose. The stitch patterns andinstructions are easy to follow and quick to use. Readers will enjoycreating a fel ted purse, a drawstring bag, crocheted accessory bags,cozy scarves, a pretty tank top, arm and leg warmers, cable footies,lace wristlets, fingerlessgloves, pillows, bibs, feltedbowls, a baby sweater, a softand absorbent crochetedbath mat and accessories­and so much more, eachfrom a single skein of yarn!In One Skein, author LeighRadford smartly includesseveral projects speciallydesigned to make use of whatever you've got left over from otherprojects-one of the nicest designs we've ever seen is for a quick-to­make, colorful, and long-lasting rug. Dig out your stash and dash toyour yarn store ... you won't want to wait to begin these artful projects!

Coming Spring 2006

E T TlN Q.T... TliO

Judith L.....'"knitting~ - J""""'_

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A inner's~as - n

Modified lon g -tail ca st -on for knittin g with S - p l ie d yarns

BY R E B E C C A BARMON

twist from the tail. Even a tightly twisted yarn will almost completely untwist

the needle and the tail yarn forms a series of twisted loops, like consecutive

cursive e's. It is the act of twisting the tail yarn into a loop that adds or subtracts

PINNERS OCCASIONALLY lament that their S-plied yarn tail untwists

during the long-tail cast-on. This also happens with commercial yarns

that are S-plied. In the long-tail cast-on, the front yarn, which is the

cut end (or the tail) is made into a twisted loop, through which a loop of the

back yarn (the ball yarn) is pulled. The ball yarn ends up as a series of loops on

I

Figure 1: First step in thumb positionfor the modified long-tail cast-on. Yourthumb is now in the correct position forthe modified cast-on (see Figure 2).

I

the right to the left, and then pass behind the thumb and down, as in Figure

2. It is still wrapped around the thumb but in the opposite direction fro m the

traditional method. When the stitch is completed, the tail will be coming from

under the horizontal strand at the base of the stitch.

the sloppy appearance of the unplied strand in the base of the cast-on. When

use this cast-on whenever I am working with S-plied yarn because it prevents

cided to try looping the yarn in the opposite direction. It worked, and I now

cast-on stitches, which helps but is inconvenient to do. Then, one day, I de-

into separate plies if a large number of stitches are being cast on. By twisting

the tail loop in the opposite direction, one can add twist with each loop instead

ofsubtracting it. On occasion, I have tried twisting the tail after each six to ten

using the traditional long-tail cast-on, the yarn is basically looped with the tail

at the fro nt of the loop; with this modified cast-on, the yarn is looped with the

tail at the back of the loop. When the yarn is in position fo r the modi fied cast-

on, it should come from the needle, wrap across the front of the thumb fromI/

, - / ' J/"

\ .--"Figur. ]: Picking up the I 0 : Place theneedle over the front strand on the indexfinger, scoop the strand back through thethumb loop, and then tighten the loop.

IFigur. 2: Note that the thumb is inposition for the modified cast-on.

50 I S P I N· O F F I WWW.INTERWEAVE.CO J\1

Swatch 2

Swatch 1

the thumb st ran d by bringing yo u r

thumb up and to the front , under the

stran d, an d then pull forward on the

st rand to snug it up against the n eedl e.

Tension the ball st rand if necessary. Your

thumb sh ou ld n ow be in po sition to

insert the n eedle aga in for the next

st itc h .

To see for yourself the difference be­

tween the original and modified cast-ons,

make a 20-stitch swatch. Cast on 10 mod­

ified stitches, and then cast on 10 stitch­

es in the traditional manner. Knit a fewrows of stockine tte sti tch and then ex­

amine your cast-on edge. The lower edge

of the st itches shou ld slan t like thi s:

/ / / / / / / / / /-\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ (see Swatch 1).

If you examine these sti tches closely,

you shou ld be able to see the twist in the

pli ed yarn. The st itches on the ri ght

shou ld be twisted more tightly than the

stitches on the left. If you feel the st itch­

es , those on the right shou ld feel firmer

than those on the left.

This cas t-on will actua lly tighten the

S-plied yarn tail (the cut end) as you cast

on. If you want absolutely no twist added

to or su bt racted from the yarn tail, try

alternat ing the regular cas t-o n and the

modified one to create a bri cklike effect,

with a lte rnat in g horizontal s t ran ds

sim ila r to a ridge of garter sti tch (see

Swatch 2) . In fact, this technique is men­

tioned as a decorative cast-on in Nancy

Bush's Knitting on the Road: SockPatterns for the Traveling Knitter(Love land, Colorado: Interweave Press,

2001). Once you get used to this cast-on,

it will become as natural as the original

one. Just keep practicing it until it

becomes comfortable! 1$

REBECCA HARMON is a fiber enthusiast from

Portland, Oregon. She enjoyslearning (and un-venting) new

techniques to make her fibercreations more useful and

beautiful. She and her husband,

Lawrence, run Mountain MistFibenoorks-s-see their website at

touxo.mountain-rnist.com.

the tail looped over your thumb and the

ball end ove r your right index fin ger,

modify the cast -on this way:

Instead of c ircl ing you r thumb ove r

the st rand, behind it, and back under it

again to form the yarn loop, circle it over

the strand, in front of it, and back under

it. Insert the tip of the n eedl e under the

back thumb st ran d from front to back

and wrap the ball yarn arou nd the needle

with your right hand as usual. Draw this

strand through the thumb loop, remove

your thumb from the loop, and tighten

up this st ran d by bringing the n eedl e

back under it , and then bring it back

through the thumb lo op . Rem ove the

thumb from the loop and use it to

tighten the thumb strand (th is forms the

loop around the base of the st itch ). Note:It is easi er to do this cas t -o n quickly if

you pull the thumb st ran d fr om

underneath to tighten it (as in Figure 2),

as this will put your thumb back in

position to do the next cast -on st itch .

If you work the long-tail cas t-on with

long-tail cas t -on (betw ee n the two

st rands of yarn com ing from the needle).

Now, move you r thumb up and in front

of the fron t st ran d (see Figure 1), an d

then put the tip of your thumb between

the strands (thumbnail is now behind

the front st ran d) and move you r thumb

leftward.

To pick up the loop of ya rn that will

go arou nd the needl e, insert the needle

under the back thumb st rand from front

to back and bring it up over th e front

index finger st rand (see Figure 3). Scoop

There are two ways of doing the long­

tail cas t -on . Both can be m odified for

S-plied yarn. I will describe h ow to do

both methods, as most knitters prefer

one or the other.

If you wo rk the long-tail cas t-on with

the yarn forming an inverted "V" over

your left thumb and index finger, the

cas t-on is modified in this way:

To find the ri ght positi on for your

thumb, place yo u r thumb and index

fin ger in the normal po sition for the

Rebecca Harmon was frustrated with the traditional long-tail cast-on technique because the (utend of her yarn raveled as she cast on-so she developed this technique to counter the ravelingand now enjoys cleaner cast-on edges.

S P R I N C 2006 I S PIN· 0 F F I 51

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PEACE 0F YARN

Carolyn Green­wood spun thedyed ravingsfrom a spinner's~iiietreat weekend

In City,Utah, to mak _her poncho-atangible memoryof the weekendwith fiber friends.

\•

•

•

•w w W . I N T E R W E A V E .~ 0 ~1

onc

54 I S I' I N ' O F F [

A natural dyeingretreat and a

handw oven momento

Fiber preparationThe fib ers were slightly felted by all thehandling in the dyeing process. I gentlypulled the rovings apart lengthwise andcarded each portion separately on myFricke drumcarder.

S I WRITE, there are just

284 days unti l the next

Wasatch Woolpack Retreat

in Park City, Utah. Each summer,

members of this Salt Lake City guild

meet for four days of spinning,

fri endship, and renewal at member

Kathy Wright's property- Kathy's

Meadow. It is an event we look for­

ward to all year.

A favorite activity at the retreat is

natural dyeing. I returned from the

last retreat with a bag full of mohair

and generic fine wool roving in beau­

tiful muted shades of blues, olive

greens, and rusts from indigo, onion

skin, and madder dyepots. I wanted

to make something from these fibers

that would be a souvenir from the

retreat- a Park City Poncho.

PARK CITY

BY CAROLYN

GREENWOOD

Carolyn brushed themohair after lulling Iheponcho to help bring Duia halo of mohair.

wound all the yarns into skeins and gen­tly washed them in warm, soapy wate r,rinsed th em, and hung them to dry. Ithen wound them into balls. In the end,[ had eleven different yarns.

thi ck, clustered stripes of color, leaving16 empty dents between each stripe (seeFigure 1). I the n wound a 3-yard warp of144 ends from the miscellaneous yarns ,winding each yarn separate ly until theball ran out. [ had differe nt amounts ofeach yarn, but a total of 144 ends.

The fun part was designing (warpingfront-to-back) by placing each differentyarn in the 2-inch sections of reed leftbetween the instant boucle stripes. Ithreaded the heddles according to Figure1 and ve ry carefu lly beamed the warp,

Weaving the poncho[ wanted the instant boucle yarn to bevisible, so I looked through var iousweaving books and magazines to find apattern that would show off these yarnsin the weave struc ture . I found what Iwas looking for in the article, "Designingwith Novelty Yarns for a SumptuousShawl" by Barbara Herbster, in Hand­woven (January/February 2005).

I decided to bundle the instant boucleyarns in separate colors to create boldstr ipes spaced 2 inches apart. I wound a3-yard warp of 81 ends of instant boucleusing 27 ends blue, 36 ends olive, and 18ends rust. I threaded these 3 ends per dent

in an 8-dent reed,warping front-to­back, to create

rinsed and hung theskei n to dry. When itwas dry, I carefu llypulled the sticky strandsapart and wound theyarn into a ball.

After making three colors of instantboucle yarn, I used up the leftover woolsingles by either Navajo-plying (see page30) or by makin g three-ply yarn ofdifferent strands . I used some of theleftover mohai r fo r two-ply yarns. Iwanted some lighte r-colored yarns forcontrast, so I blended some of the dyedwool fibers with tussah silk on my drum­carde r. I spu n these from the point oftwist into two-ply yarns that averaged 14wraps per inch usi ng a 15.5:1 ratio. [

placed the wool to my left and the mo­hair to my right. [ lied both yarns to thebobbin leader and plied using my largestwho rl (9:1 ratio). To ply, I allowed themohair to spiral loosely around the wool.Every so often I would push some of theplied mohair toward the orifice to formlittle loops. This is not necessary but doescreate more loops in the finished yarn .

The magic of instant boucle occu rsduring the fi nishing process. After ply­ing, I used a one-yard ruddy-noddy towind the yarn into a skein and tied it inseveral places. [ placed it in a sink fi lledwith hot, soapy water and scrubbed theske in to encourage th e wool fibers toshrink and full. The mohair does not fullqu ite as mu ch as the wool, so it formsli ttle loops-instant boucle!

Being careful not to full the skein intoone giant lum p, I watched closely and,when the strands of yarn were just start­ing to stick together, I quit scrubbing. I

The poncho is woven in two panels onone warp.

Yarn Requirements

Warp: 243 yards boucle, 12 wraps perinch (I used 81 yards blue, 108 yardsolive, and 54 yards rusI).

432 yards miscellaneous yarns, 14wraps per inch.

Weft: About 600 yards 2·ply tussahsilk, 16 wraps per inch.

Aboul 15 yards 60/2 silk thread orother fine thread .

Spinning the yarns[ wanted to make a variety of yarns fo rthis poncho. Since [ had both mohai rand fine wool, I decided to start wi th an"instant boucle" yarn. [ learned to makethis yarn in a workshop by Maggie Caseyat SOAR 2001.

Using my Schacht wheel, I spun themohair with a medium grist (about 78yards per ounce; grist is the relation be­tween the yarn's length and weight) andmedium twist. I set this bobbin aside andfi lled another bobbin with the fine woolspu n with a fine gr ist (about 230 yardsper ounce) and hi gh amo unt of twist.Both these fibers were spun from thedrumcarded batts by pulling offa length­wise strip of fibers and spinning from theend in a modifi ed long draw (also knownas point of twist).

I put the bobbins of yarn on separatelazy kates (shoe boxes with knitti ngneedles work as well-see page 96) . [

Wldlh: 21.375".

Length: 40" (make 2 panels).

Poncho finished dimensions: WidlhIT', Lenglh 36%" (excluding fringe).

Tools

4·harness loom, at least 22 inches weav­ing width.

s-dent reed.

Poncho dimensions on loom

___...;.,Pr;,;:oject Notes

S P R I N C 2 0 0 6 I S P I N . 0 F F I 55

3 32 2

1 1\

\\

\\

\\

\

r

o 0 0 0

Constructing the ponchoI placed the short end of panel 2 at rightangles to the top 15 inches of the long sideof panel 1. I sewed the panels toge therusing a cross-stitched decorative patternwith the leftover handspun silk yarn. Ithen placed th e short end of pane l 1 atright angles to the top 15 inches of thelong side of panel 2, sewing these togetherin the same manner (see Figure 3).

This poncho reminds me of thewonderful times I've had with my friendsat our Park City retreat. Whenever I wearit, I fee l wrapped in the warmth of friend-ship. 'S

ResourcesHerbstcr; Barbara. "Designing With Novelty

Yarns for a Sumptuous Shawl,"Handwo­ven 16, 1 (January/February 2005), 70-72.

pointed, though , that the boucle yarnsdid not show as much looped effect as Idesired. I had really hoped for nice stripesof textured loops commanding attention.I experimented and brushed th e fabri cwith a stiff brush. If I couldn't have loops,then perhaps I could have fuzzy stripes!The mohair brushed up beautifully andgave a nice softness to the fabric.

CAROLYN GREENWOOD lives in Genola,

Utah, with her husband and six children.When she's not playing soccer mom, you

can find her in her fiber studio.

Figure 1

Figure 3

15'

15"

•••••• •••D D

~,---8"----,,----2x---, ,----4x---, ,----2x---,

• •• 44

••• •••

0 = instant boucle (e= blue, e = olive green, e = rust )D = otheryarns

40"

40"

1111111111Figure 2

Hemstit(h< 11111111 11 2"

111111 11 11

FinishingI cut the two pane ls apart and gentlywashed each by hand in a basin of warmwater. The fabric immediately becamesofter and sup pler. I removed the excesswate r by ro lling it in a towel and thenhung the panels up to dry. I gentlypressed th e fabric while damp. I twistedthe fringe and knotted it.

I was pleased with the colorful stripesand even with the bit of seersucker effectthat sometimes occurs whe n workingwith mixed warps. I was a bit disap-

Carolyn made "instantboucle" by making a spiralyarn with a mohair and awool yarn and then washingthe yarn vigorously in hotwater to help the mohairbloom into boucle loops. Thesmooth yarns are eitherNavajo·plied or 2·ply.

silk weft, using the patterntreadling, and hem­stitched. I continued toweave until the secondpanel measured 40 incheslong. I cut the panels fromthe loom leaving 6 inchesof warp on t he end forfri nge. The first panel usesthe tying on and fill er yarn

for its fringe (see Figure 2).

Twisted fringe

gently using my fingers to comb out theslightly tangled warp ends.

For the weft, I spun about 600 yardsof two-ply tussah silk yarn at 16 wrapsper inch. I thought that silk would add anice drape to the finished fab ric.

Beginning with 3 inches of rags forfiller to make the fringe, I wove 40 inchesfo llowing the treadling pattern in Figure1, gently laying in the weft yarn at 11picks per inch. I fo und some 60/2 silkthread on a shelf in my studio and wove'/. inch in plain weave with it, beat ingfirmly to hold the warp threads in placeand to give a nice finish to the end of thepanel. I hemstitched the end of the panelusing th e silk thread and stitching overtwo of the handspun weft yarns at a time.

To create space between the panels, Iwove 2 inches using thick rags as weft.I began the second panel by weaving 'I,inch in plain weave with the 60/2 silk. Ithen wove several shots of the handspun

56 I S PI N . 0 F F I WWW. 1 N T E R W E A V E . C 0 j\J

••• · , • •, , , , • ,, • , • •• •, •• • ,• <

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• ••, •

SpinningI essentially used the same spinningtechnique for all the yarns: a short draw

NMARCH 2003, I drove from Omaha,Nebraska, to Fairfield, Iowa, to parti­cipate in a three-day "Spinning for

Kn itting" wo rkshop taught by RitaBuchanan, I'd been knitting for aboutfi fteen years, but spinning for only three,so this workshop seemed the perfectopportuni ty to redirect my very modestspinning skills to complement my morepracticed knitting skills. Rita is a superbinstructor. Her systematic approachmade clear how changing each variableof a yarn (such as th ickness or twist)affected the knitted fabric .

I had too many moments of epiphanyto relat e here, but one part icularmoment prompted me to explore th epossibilities of knitt ing with singles. Onthe third day of the workshop, we stud­ied the effects of changing the numb erof plies in a yarn. One of the samples thatwe knitted used a singles yarn that wehad spun. While I was knitt ing a swatchfrom that yarn, my mind buzzed withid eas for scarves that would take ad­vantage of the biasing inherent in stock­inette-stitch fabr ic made with singles.Rita encouraged me to review the workof Kathryn Al exand er, and, after theworkshop, I reread her article in th eSpring 2002 issue of Spin-Off, Kathryn'swork inspired me even more to explorethe wild and twisty world ofknitting withenergized singles.

In my knitting, I rely on sampling tohelp me achieve the effects I have in mymind's eye; through Rita's workshop, Icame to appreciate the value of similar­ly creating samples while spinning. Totake sampling even further, I give myselfsystematic assignments to develop tech­niques, explore the possibilities ofspecificspinning variables, and achieve a morethorough and personal aesthetic sense.Here are the results of one of myassignments-c- l have spun and knittedsix scarves to begin an exploration ofknitting with singles.

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and Z-twist for fibers spun on my Reevesupright (castle) wheel. The amount I pre­drafted depended on the fiber. Often, pur­chased rovings are a bit compacted andare difficult to spin without predrafting,With thick commercially prepared combedtops, I split sections of the top lengthwiseinto two or more pieces. [ follow thisprocess by pulling lengthwise on a sec­t ion of top to open up the fibers. Pur­chased carded rovings are usually not asthick as commercial combed top, so lesslengthwise spli tting is needed and length­wise pulling is accomplished faster. In ad­dition to making the fibers easier to draftwhile spinning, predraft ing allows me tobecome acquainted with the character­istics of the fiber (such as slipperiness orelasticity) prior to spinning. [ tend to pre­draft the combed preparations more thanthe carded preparations. I also used thisse ries of sca rves to pract ice spinni ngmore fi nely than [ usually do. The yarnsaveraged 19 to 24 wraps per inch corn-

pared to my usual worsted- to heavyworsted-weight two-ply yarns that mea­sure 8 to 12 wraps per inch.

Knitting the scarvesFor the scarves, [ knitted directly off thebobbins, which I placed on my Kat iea-Go Go (from Nancy's Knit Knacks). TheKati e a-Go Go is perfect for th is jobbecause these singles are not steamedand the yarn readily untwists unless heldunder tension. [ wove in the cast-on endssho rtly after start ing each scarf asKathryn recommended in her arti cle,and then 1used spit joins' for the rest ofthe scarf to avoid having unruly ends toweave In.

Prior to starting each scarf, [ sampledto determine the needle size that result­ed in a pleasing fabric and to determinethe gauge so that [ could cast on areasonable num ber of stitches. Thegauges listed in th e inst ruct ions areguidelines only. Knit a swatch to find a

needle size that gives you a fabric youli ke with the yarn you have spun.

Despite the simplicity of the st itchpatterns [ used, it was necessary to keepan eye on the knitting; the yarn wasrather will fu l. Stitches tended to pop offthe needle, and dropped sti tches weresomet imes hard to pick up because thestitch would twist in on itself, hiding inthe stitch below. It seemed to me that,because the scarves were knitted withsingles. variations in yarn thickness weremore obvious in the knitted fabric thanfor fabric knitted with plied yarns, where­as variations in twist seemed less obvi­ous. Even though the patterns were easy,I ofte n used stitch markers to separatesections and relieve my brain from keep­ing track of too many things.

For all the scarves, [ used a long-tailcast-on (see page 50), and a standardbind-off.

Bind-off: K1 , *k1 and si over the sec­ond stitch on the right needle and off theright needle.* Repeat from * to * untilall the stitches have been bound off.

Blocking the scarvesPrior to blocking, each scarf containeda great deal of "motion" or "body," andmost of the scarves were quite three­dimensional. It was wonderful to seesome of these scarves become tamer, butst ill fascinating, afte r blocking-theblocked resu lt was always a pleasantsurprise.

For all scarves, [ used a wet-blocktechnique. [ let each scarf soak in warmwater with a splash of Eucalan No RinseWoolwash for fifteen minutes. I carefullysqueezed out the water and rolled thescarf in a towel to remove more water. Ilaid the scarf flat to dry. Some scarveshave edges that require additional steam

I Most scarves require more than one bobbin ofyam. I use spit joints to attach the end of the work­ing yam to a new bobbin ofyam fora seamless joinwith no ends to weave in. This technique workswell with feltable fibers such as wool or alpaca­overlap the working end with the end from the newbobbin about 2 to 4 inches. Put this overlapped sec­tion in yourmouth to get it wet with saliva (or wetit with water) , then vigorously rub the sectionbetween your hands to felt the section together.

S P R [ N C 2 (J n fi I s I' IN · 0 F F I 59

blocking (see the individual scarf in­structions).

In this series of scarves I explored anarrow set of spinning and knitting vari­ables. Each scarf cons isted of only onefib er source; all yarns were spun withZ-twist and an even thickness (an at­

tempted even th ickness, that is); andeach scarf was knitted on U.S. size 2 to4 needles. In addi tion, the scarves wereknitted with similar stitch patterns. Irelied primarily on stockinette stitch­but chose variations of lace, reversestockinette, and garter stitch. (Note: Thestoc kinette st itch results in a biasedfabric while the garter stitch does not.)

I imagine that including more thanone fiber in a scarf, or combining Z- andS-twist yarns (as demonstrated very

effectively in Kathryn Alexander's work),or using multiple yarn twists and thi ck­nesses, or varying needle sizes wouldresult in many more stunning arrange­ments. You couldalso use more complexcombinations of knit and purl stitches.Roberta Gardner, a fib er friend inBellevue, Nebraska , suggested usingsingles to knit the Tumbling Block stitchpattern, which contains patches of stock­inette, reverse stockinette, and seedstitch (see The New Kn itting S titchLibrary by Lesley Stanfie ld, p. 38, as onesource for this pattern).

Even though the stitch patterns forthese scarves are quite simple, it isgrat ify ing that they yielded far fromsimple fabrics when knitted with singlesyarns. I am now encouraged to explore

other techniques that take advantage ofthe unique nexus of handkn it ting andhandspinning, t£i

Formerly an assistant professor at the

University ofNebraska Medical Center, AMY

TYLER recently left Omaha and academic /ife to

pursue tiberarts full lime in Interlochen,

Michigan. There she revels in lake-effect snow

and creates knit designs under the business

name Stone Sock Pibers.

ResourcesAlexande r, Kathryn. "Knitting with Singles"

Spin-Off 26, I (Spring 2002), 54- 61.Stanfield, Lesley. The New Knitting Stitch

Library . Radnor, Pennsylvania: ChiltonBook Company, 1992.

Walker, Barbara G. A Treasury ofKnittingPatterns. Pittsville, Wisconsin: School­house Press, 1998.

Random Obscurity Zigzag Scarf #1

.... .:.P~roject Notes

SpinningI divided a 4-ounce bag of top into pieces about 1 foot long. I

then spli t each I-foot piece lengthwise into four strips and ran­domly selected from these strips for spinning. I predrafted thetop before spinning.

KnittingFor all rows, slip the first stitch purl-wise with the yarn in front.

If the row is then knitted, move the yarn to the back to start knit­ting. If the row is purled, leave the yarn in front and start purling.

Cast on 80 sts.Bottom edge: Work 4 rows of garte r stitch (knit each row).

' Work about 2 inches in stockinette stitch (St st; knit on thefront, purl on the back).

Work about 2 inches in reverse St st (pur l on the right side,knit on the wrong side ).'

Repeat from ' to • until desired length.Top edge: Work 4 rows of garter stitch (knit each row) and bind

off.I washed the scarf and laid it flat to dry.

chased from Bonkers HandmadeOriginals, Lawrence, Kansas.

Needle size: U.S. size 3.

Wraps per Inch: 21.

Gauge: 8 sts and 10 rows = 1".Flbe" 50%Merino/50%Teneelcombed top, hand-dyed (the "Ob­scure Rainbow" colorway), pur-

Finished weight: 3.4 ounces.

Finished dimensions: 10" by46" .

60 I S P IN ·O F F I W WW .INT E RW E A V E .C OJ\1

Chocolateand VanillaZigzag Scarf #2

....__...;..Pr;.;;oject Notes

Finished weight: 3.05 ounces.

Finished dimensions: 6Y," by 63".

Fiber: 100% Finn wool carded rovingwith variegated calors purchased fromLittlefarm Enterprises, Gerald, Missouri.

Wraps per Inch: 24.

Gauge: 8 sts and 12 rows = I".

Needle sl.e: U.S. size 2 for knitting andU.S. size 5 for casting on and binding off.

Spinning

This fib er was a luxury to spin as itwas ve ry, very soft. I thought about icecream the entire time I was spinning it.The fib er needed only a bit of predraft­ing before spinning.

Knitting

The casting-on process for this scarfwas challenging for a few reasons. First,because the scarf was knitted side to side,[ cast on a lot of stitches. I estimate thenumber of cast-on stitches to be around450 because, instead of actually countingthe stitches after casting on as I usuallydo, I counted while casting on and placeda marker eve ry 100 stitches and did notbother to recount. Second , because ofthe energy inherent in the singles, I useda long-tail cast-on with two strands, eachfrom a separate bobbin of singles. Thatway, [ did not have to estimate the lengthneeded for so many stitches . Third , Ididn't want the cast-on edge to be tootight, so [ used a V.S. size 5 needle to caston, then I switched to size 2 for the bodyof the scarf (I bound off with a V.S. size5, too).

Start every row with yo, k2tog (onknit rows) or yo, p2tog (on purl rows).Cast on 450 to 500 sts (kni t a gaugeswatch to determine th e number ofstitches needed for desired length ).

Bottom edge: 3 rows of reverse St st(purl on right side , knit on wrong side).

' Work IS rows St st (knit on rightside, purl on wrong side). Work 15 rowsreverse Si st.*

Work ' to • twice (60 rows). End byworking IS rows St st.

Top edge: 3 rows of reverse St st as for

the bottom edge .Bind off loosely and finish following

instructions on pages 59 to 60. Steamthe cast-on and bound-off edges to neat­en them.

S P R I N C 2006 I S PI N· 0 F F I 61

_____Pr;,,;oject Notes

Finished weight: 1.9 ounces.

Finished dimensions: 4%" by 63".

Flber: 100%Merino wool combed toppurchased from Heartland NaturalFibers, Arlington, Nebraska.

Wraps per Inch: 22.

Gauge: 9 sts and 12 rows = 1".

Needle size: U.S. size 3.

The Other Side ofthe Diamond

Lace Diamond Chain (panel of 18 sts)from Barbara G. Walker's A Treasury ofKnitting Pal/em s, page 222. Reprintedwith permission from Schoolhouse Press,Pittsville, Wisconsin.Row 1: K6, yo, ssk, k2, yo, ssk, k6.Row 3: K4, k2tog, yo, kl , yo, ssk, k2, yo,

ssk, k5.Row 5: K3, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k2, yo,

ssk, k4.Row 7: (K2, k2tog, yo) twice, kl, yo, ssk,

k2, yo, ssk, k3.Row 9: Kl, k2tog, yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k3,

(yo, ssk, k2) twice.Row 11: K3, yo, ssk, k2, yo, ssk, yo,

k2tog, yo, k2, k2 tog, yo, k2tog, kl .Row 13: K4, yo, ssk, k2, yo, sll, k2 tog,

psso, yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k3.Row 15: K5, yo, ssk, k2, yo, ssk, kl ,

k2tog, yo, k4.Repeat Rows I- 16 twice (so that you

have three patterns total).Repeat Rows I and 2 again.Work 3 rows to create a garter ridge

and to reverse direct ion: KI, purl to lastst, kl.

Continue repeating this diamondpattern until scarf is desired length.

Top edge: Work 4 rows of garter stitch(knit each row) and bind off.

After washing the scarf followinginstructions on pages 59 to 60, I noticedthat the side edges still curled a bit, so Isteamed them with a steam iron (holdingthe iron just above the fabric) to neatenthem.

from Barbara G. Walker's, A Treasury ofKnitting Pal/ems, page 222. The 11 slsat each side are worked in lace fagoting,

Cast on 40 sts.Bottom edge: Work 5 rows of garter

stitch (knit each row).Next row: KI, purl to last st, kl ,

Start pattern (16 rows):Note: Each odd-numbered row (RS)

is worked as follows: K3, ssk, yo, k2 , yo,k2tog, k2, Lace Diamond Chain (seebelow), k2, ssk, yo, k2, yo, k2tog, k3.

Even numbered rows (WS) : Kl , purlto last st, kl.

Zigzag Scarf #3

KnittingFor the center panel of 18 sts, I used

the Lace Diamond Chain stitch pattern

SpinningI pulled off about a foot of the top at

a time, divided it lengthwise into fourpieces, and then predrafted each piece.This fiber tended to st ick to my clothes,so I put the predrafted fiber in a smoothceramic bowl, and 1put the bowl on thefl oor so that I cou ld feed the fiber ontothe whee l wit hout it catching on myclothes.

62 I S I' I N · 0 F F I w w W . I N T E R W E A V E . C 0 f.l

Project Notes

Alexander's Alpaca Zigzag Scarf #4

Spinning[ ordered a large amount of alpaca roving from Kathleen Wedel of Prairie's

Edge Farm. In advance of that large order. she sent me a sample from Alexan­der, a rose-gray alpaca. Alexander was soft! This scarf is from that sample.

Wraps per Inch: 19.

Gauge: 7.5 sts and 11 rows in stock­inette stitch = 1".

Needle size: U.S. size 3; stitchmarkers.

Finished weight: 2.4 ounces.

Finished dimensions: 7'!,-8Y," by36".

Flber: 100% alpaca carded roving ob­tained as a sample from Prairie's EdgeFarm, Paola, Kansas.

KnittingFor each row, slip the first stitch purlwise with yarn in front, then move

the yarn to the back. Cast on 56 sts.Bottom edge: Work 4 rows of garter stitch (k each row) .

*Next row: 511 purlwise, kI, k20 (place marker), kl2 (place marker ), p20,k2.Repeat this row 23 times (24 rows total).

Next row: Sll , kl, p20, k12, k20, k2.Repeat this row 23 times (24 rows total) .*Repeat from * to * until scarf is desired length.Top edge : Work 4 rows of garter stitch (k each row) and bind off.[ washed the scarf following the instructions on pages 59 to 60. Prior to

blocking, this scarf seemed destined to remain three-dimensional. However,blocking returned the scarf to two dimensions, with a varying width.

Softer Than Celery Zigzag Scarf #5

KnittingCast on 62 sts. Start each row: 511 purlwise with yarn in front, move

yarn to back, work across.Bottom edge: Work 16 rows garte r stitch (k each row) .

SpinningThis fiber came in one of my

favorite shades of green- a cel­ery calor. Although the fiber didnot feel overly soft to my hand,it perfo rmed perfectly in th enext-to-the-neck test (I put asmall knitted swatch under mycollar and left it there for awhile). This fib er is very, veryspringy and is wonderful forwinter wear.

Project Notes

Finished weight: 3.8 ounces.

Finished dimensions: 9" by 54".

Flber: 100% Targhee wool carded rov­ing purchased fromOzark Carding Millof Warsaw, Missouri.

Wraps per Inch: 22.

Gauge: 7 sts and 10 rows in stockinettestitch = 1".

Needle size: U.S. size 4; stitch markers.

SPRINC 2(JUfi l S I' I N' O F F I 6 3

*Row 1: SI1 purlwise with yarn in front,k18 (place marker), k24 (place mark­

er), k19.Row 2: SI1, k18, p24, k1 9.

Repeat Rows 1 and 2 for a tota l of 16rows (8 garte r ridges).

Row 3: Work as for Row 2.

Three Dee Zigzag Scarf #6Spinning

The colors, which were more distinct

in the combed top, became subtly blend­ed with spinning. The result is a lovely,muted fabric, with a faint mohair halo.

L-__--'-P;..;;roject Notes

Finished weight: 3.65 ounces.

Finished dimensions: 8" by 62".

Flber: Merino/kid mohair blend combedtop that I purchased from Ms. Dobinsky,a fiber vendor at the Heart of AmericaSheep Show and Fiber Festival, Nevada,Missouri.

Wraps per Inch: 24.

Gauge: 9 sts and 11 rows = I".

Needle size: U.S. size 3; stitch marker.

Row 4: Work as for Row 1.Repeat Rows 3 and 4 for a total of 16

rows.*

Repeat fro m * to * until scarf is de­sired length.

Top edge: Work 16 rows garte r st itch(k each row) and bind off.

KnittingCast on 72 sts.

Bottom edge:Row 1: *K2tog, yo*; repeat from *

to * to last 2 sts ; k2.Row 2: Kni t across.Row 3: K1, *k2tog, yo*; repeat

from * to * to last st; k1.

Row 4: Knit across.

Main pattern:*Row 1: K2tog, yo,

k34 (place mark­er), p36.Repeat this row

until scarf measuresabout 4}~ ".

I was hed the sca rf and let it dry fiat.The zigzagging of this scarf is rathersubtle . The sca rf blocked to a standardrectangular shape, yet the cen t ral sec­tions of St st and reverse St st still biaseda bit.

Row 2: P2tog, yo, p34, k36.Repeat this row for about 4%".*Rep eat from * to * until scarf is

desired len gth.

Top edge :Row 1: Knit ac ross.Row 2: K1 , *k2tog, yo*; repeat from * to

* to last st; k1.

Row 3: Knit across.Row 4: *K2tog, yo*; repeat from * to * to

last 2 sts; k2 and bind off.

I washed this scarf and then folded itlengthwise so that it would lay fiat to dry.Then I used a steam iron to steam outthe edges . This scarf was the only onethat remained distinctly three-dimen­

sional after blocking.

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S P R I N C 2 0 0 6 I S P I N . 0 F F I 65

er ature's ootstooSpinnin g for n e edl ep oint

BY PAT D A VI S

UST HOME from another year's intense nine-day Ontario

Handweavers and Spinners Spinning Certificate and Master Spin­

ner program in Ki ngston, Ontario, Canada, I was inspired by my

new dyeing skills and had an abundance of energy for the coming year's

homework. I already envisioned all the wonderful natural dye colors

available in my neighborhood,

project and get two th ings done at thesame time. Since it was still summer, andthe weeds, along with beautiful flowersand gardens, were plentiful, I would dyefiber with natural dyes for a needlepointfootstool cover to satisfy the requirementfor the worsted project as well as thehomework assignment for natural dyes.

One of th e homework assignmentswas to make a handspun worsted proj­ect using 150 to 200 yards of two-plyyarn. It did not have to be dyed, but ithad to be prepared from a breed of sheepappropriate for the end use. "End use"had become a dreaded phrase. It meantsampling, sampling. and more sampling.The real challenge was not just to spinwith the end use in mind, but also to in­corporate more of what I learn ed fromthe Kingston classes into the worstedproject (choosing the right end use for

Project Notes

Finished size: 11 x 15 x 8".

Flber: 4 ounces of Columbia fleece inlocks,

Yarn: 2·ply handspun yarn, 13 wrapsper inch.

Dyed flber: Fifteen packets of 5.4grams of fiber that has been dyed withbanana peel, goldenrod, onion skins,Queen Anne's lace, 51. John 's wart,sumac, and walnut giving shades of yel­low, green, and brown along with thenatural undyed fleece.

Needle: Size 18.

Materials: Size 14 needlepoint canvas;the canvas was 2 inches wider on allsides than the footstool top; 1'/," widetape for binding edges.

the spinning technique, findi ng a fleecefor a specifi c project , and working withnatural dyes),

I had taken the Level [[ classes thatincluded worsted spinning (wool comb­ing, spinning techniques, and finishing),sheep breeds (identification of types, mi­cron count, and fl eece characteristics),natural dyeing (possible dye materials,mo rdants, process, and safety), colorblending (to create a triaxial th irty-stepchart using the three primary colors andchanging the blending by percentages tocreate colors), and the history of spin­ning equipment and wheels. Just tomake sure we had hands-on experience,we spun sample skeins on five types ofwheels: a flyer driven Ashford Tradition­al, a spindle wheel (the Great wheel), adoub le-drive Journey wheel, a bobbin­driven Louet SI 0, and a frict ion-drivenBaby LoueUHat box wheel.

As I was thin king about the home­work assignments, it occurred to me thatI could expand upon what I was doing forsom e of the homework for my worsted

Columbia Fleece

Becky Haws9161 Greensburg PikePortage, OH 43451·9733bhaws@wcnel.org

Washing the fleeceLike most spinners, I had a couple of un­washed and washed fl eeces in my stash.I read about my stash fleeces on the In­ternet and in In SheepsClothing. I chosea white Columbia fl eece that I had pur­chased fro m Belly Haws (see box below)because I had learned that Columbia(Lincoln rams crossed with Rambouilletewes) has a fine, lofty, and lustrous fleecerecommended for kni lled and wovenprojects. Even though there was no men­tion of needlepoint, I had a feeling itcould work. I placed the fl eece on a 4-by­8-foo t shee t of plywood positioned onmetal sawhorses to create a good workarea at a reasonable height for skirting.I kept the locks intact and placed groupsof them in five plastic mesh baskets forwashing. I fill ed both sides of a doublesink with hot tap water (1250 F). I added2 tablespoons of Orvus soap to one sinkand left the othe r sink for rinsing. Iplaced a single layer of fleece in each bas­ket, stacked the baskets, then loweredthem into the soap solution and let themsoak for 5 minutes. I pulled the stackedbaskets out of the wat er and we ntthrough the locks, open ing the tips sothe crusted dirt cou ld work free, andthen I returned them to the hot, soapywate r for another 5-mi nute soak. Ipressed the excess water fro m the locks

66 I S I' I N · 0 F F I w w W . I N T E R W E A V E . C 0 f.l

Empty one-canon plastic water jugs

Fiber weight per packet: Columbia locks,5.4 grams; commercial 2·ply yarn, 4.3grams. (The locks were for the needle­point project and the commercial yarnwas for the dye homework.)

Distilled water

Dye material

Measuring cups

Scales

Tall glass jars

Glass stirrer

Dyeing Equipmentand Materials

Stainless steel pot

Stainless steel extra-large mixing bowlfor modifier solution

Stainless steel strainer

Process

1. Soak fiber 30 minutes in Orvussoap/water solution.

2. Premordant fiber packets before plac­ing them in dye solutions by placingthem in mordant solutions if needed.

D}'eing Safely

Follow the safety precautions on the la­bels for handling mordants and dye solu­tions. No matter how funny it looks-al­ways wear a dust mask and gloves whencollecting dye material and handlingpowder. Work in a well-ventilated area.Protect your skin and eyes from dye so­lutions. Never use dye equipment forfood preparation.

5. Place fiber packets in after-bathmodifier solution if needed.

3. Place fiber packets in dyebath con­taining one mordant.

4. Postmordant fiber packets by placingthem in mordant solutions.

Gathering dyestuffI looked through Wild Color by JennyDean and reviewed my notes from last

closing each with a brass safe ty pin (toprevent rust). I tagged th e packets (328in all) with plastic strips cut fro m a milkjug and labeled each strip with the nameof the dye plant and mordant (if used)using a permanent marker. However, ifI had the time to make new ones for fu­ture use, I would use Ink Jet Shrink Filmby Crafix to make the tags with dye plantand mordant descriptions so that I couldreuse the tags for another project.

Dyed skeins and locks.

and transferred all the baskets to therinse water. I repeated this wash andrinse process two more times and thendried th e locks on sweater drying racks.

Keeping track of the processI made a spinning worksheet for track­ing my process and the equipment andtechniques I used. I weighed the locksusing Ohaus sca les after each step andput th e locks into netted mesh squares

Natural dye stock solutions.

681 S P IN -O F F I W W W. I NTE R WEA VE .CO M

summe r's class and dye session to re­

search and choose a tota l of eight veg ­

etab le, fru it , and tree materials to use for

dyeing. I decided on St. John's wa rt (Hy­pericum perforalum), Queen Anne's lace

(Daucus carola) , goldenrod (Solidagocanadensisi, yellow onion skins (Alliumcepa) , banana peels (Musa sp .}, walnut

hulls (Juglans regia), sumac (Rh us sp.),

and brazilwood (Caesalpinia sp.). I saved

onion skins and banana peels from meals

and chopped the banana peels into small

pieces, then ferm ented them for four

days. My mom gave me walnuts from one

of her foraging trips. I had clipped non­

poisonous sumac fl owers the previous

fall. The brazilwood was purchased at a

workshop seve ra l years before and kept

for the app ropriate t ime. A fr iend gave

me St. John's wart collected dur ing the

summer. As for the Queen Anne's lace

and golden rod, I on ly had to venture to

a local field where they were abundant.

I wore a dust mask while cutting them

to avoid allergic reacti ons to pollen.

Over the next few days, I put each dye

material in to a separate sta in less steel

stockpot filled to the brim with distilled

wate r and simmered them over an hour

or until they looked drained of calor be­

fore setting each stock so lu tion aside to

cool. After they were cool, I poured the

dye liquors into empty one-gallon plas­

ti c wate r j ugs for tem porary sto rage

(it was about eight weeks from the time

the dye liquor was made until I co u ld

co m plete t he dyeing and mordanting

processes),

With the fleece washed and dyed and

the 328 packets processed using one of

eight dye methods, the next ste p was to

decide on a pattern for the barge llo foot­

stool cover and se lect co lo rs from the

netted dyed packets of locks. There were

so many colors to pick from , but I was

ab le to narrow my choices down to fi f­

teen of the dyed packets. I chose the Gen­

t ian pattern fro m Bargelto Magic, page118,

I planned on sampling the patte rn on

12-, 14- and I 6-count needl epoint can­

vas once I had spun my yarn . I had a

sa mple of commercia l Persian needl e­

point yarn to use as a guide for the de­

sired gris t, twists per inch , and twist

angle for my handspun yarn (2,250 yards

per pound, 8 twists per inch, and a 22 de­

gree angle of twist) .

SpinningI was finally ready to prepare the locks,

spin the yarn, and sta rt the needlepoint.

With Lou et doubl e-row m inicom bs, I

co mbed each 5.4-g ra m packet of dyed

lock s, t ra nsfe rr ing the fiber from one

comb to the other three times. I attached

the combs to my belt loop and slowly at­

tenuated the fibers by pu lling them from

side to side to create a sliver that I wound

into a bird 's nest bundle. I weighed each

calor's bundle and divided them into two

groups for spinn ing. I spun singles with

S-twist using a short backward-draw

techn ique . Keeping the colors separa te,

I plied all the singles with Z-twist. I com­

pared the yarn I spun to the blue co m­

mercial sample and stitched samples on

three sizes of needlepoint canvas; I D, 12

and 14. I originally planned on sampling

on 12, 14, and 16, but on ly ha d the ID,

12, and 14-so I samp led on what I had.

The first yarn was too fine for any of the

canvas sizes, so I continued to spin and

ply small samples until I found the grist

(13 wraps per inch) that covered the 14­

point canvas with the look and feel I

wan ted for the project. Once I deter­

mined the gris t of the yarn, I spu n and

~--,,,~ ,

", , " "

' " I ri ,.__ ' ~ .... ,,_n.. ' ..".,.~

" . ~~....... _ -." ,,,'''' ,...... ...~; . " d ,. . ..

L..",,~ "

,,'III '" <I ""," ~."'''' '__ '' ~' ''''''' '' --,~""",.. ...,.. "' ...,_.. ,.."'..~ ~-" "" ..•_ .... ' ~....... _.oJ ,b...-", _ "" ". ,.. '~-"""" '"'' ......".....~ <..." .... ~_ •• "" •••

J t 'Ih .. _ ' ••""" ' 'I''·,'"..~ _ ~"" , .. .... ... .

•h,,"" .~IN ...

Pat kept detailed notes of her process-carefully labeling the 328 packets of fleece and skeins as she dyed them with natural dyes.

SPR IN C 2006 1 s PIN · OF FI 69

plied the remaining fiber to match. Iske ined the yarn, soaked the skeins forfive minutes in hot tap water and a smallamount of Orvus paste, and then rinsedand hung them to dry.

Needlepoint with handspunThe book, Bargello Magic, suggests thatthe canvas should be oriented in thesame direction as the bargello st itchesthat are to be worked on the canvas. I cutthe canvas in a rectangle and taped theedges to keep them from fraying while Iwas working the needlepoint pattern andbegan stitching with one of the fifteeneo Jors. As I progressed from one sectionto the next, I laid some of th e smallskeins next to the finished section to con­template the color combination for thenew section, but it didn 't matter what

combination I chose- the natural dyesseem to just flow together nicely. WhenI fini shed stitching the needlepoint de­sign, I sewed the rectangle to a coordi­nating fabric using a sewing machineand secu red it to th e footstool using astaple gun. One thing I learned is that,while it was good to have samples of thecomme rcia l yarn to compare, it reallycame down to the hand of the handspunyarn and whether or not it could be usedfor needlepoint. The footstool adornsthe living room and we use it regularly.

PAT DAVIS lives in Tecumeseh, Wisconsin with

her husband. She has been spinning since 199/;

and is currently working on the sixth level ofthe

OHS Spinning Certificate and Master Spinner

Program. She was the newsletter editor (or the

Spinner s flock guild and sells at some of/heir

annual fairs. She teaches

adults and her five-year-old

granddaughter how to spin

when she's not working at the

University o f Michigan or

attending tiber-retated workshops.

ResourcesDean, Jenny. Wild Calor. New York: Watson­

Cuptill Publications, 1999.Fischer, Pauline, andAnabel Lasker.Bargel­

la Magic. New York: Holt, Rinehart andWinston, 1974.

Foumier, Nola, and Jane Foumier.in Sheep'sClothing. Loveland, Colorado: InterweavePress, 1995.

Minor, HoIlis Creer, "Kindling the flames: thehistory and legend of Bargello," PieceWork6, 1 (January/February 1996), 42-45.

Robertson, Beth. "Stitch a Bargello Orna­ment," PieceWork t2, 6 (NovemberlDe­cember 2004), 48- 50.

Chart for the dyeprocess forthefifteen colors

All fibers were soakedin Orvus paste for 30minutes before anymordant or dye process.

emordan

Mordant to liquor ratio: 2:1. I used six mordants for theeight dye plants. Mordantsused: rhubarb, chrome,copper, iron, alum/cream oftartar, and tin.Fiber: 5.4 grams.

2 tablespoons ammonia pergallon of water.

Simmer bath at 200'F for30 minutes.

Alum (potassium aluminumsulfate) with cream of tartar

(potassium acid tartrate) foronion skins and goldenrod.

70 I S PI N . 0 F F I www. 1 N T E R W E A V E . C 0 j\J

Calculate amount of dyeliquor for Weight of Goods(WOG) (1:1 ratio) .Mordant mixture was 1 gallonof distilled water; dye liquorwas originally 2 gallons.

Alum (potassium aluminumsulfate) with cream of tartar

(potassium acid tartrate) foronion skins, Queen Anne'slace, and banana peel.

Copper (ferrous sulfate) forwalnuts, banana peel,and sumac.

Rhubarb (Rhuem sp.) foronion skins, and St. John'swort.

Soak time: 5 minutes.

Copper (ferrous sulfate) withammonia for onion skins,goldenrod, St. John's wort,

and Queen Anne's lace.

Rhubarb (Rhuem sp.) foronion skins.

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S P R I N C 2006 I S P I N· 0 F F I 71

"-

J Brian Croot. "Cocpworth-Ccloured." In The Uhrldof Coloured Sheep, edited by Roger S. Lundie andElspeth J. Wil kinson. New Zealand:The Black andColoured Shee p Breeders' Association of NewZealand (20041. 55.l From the Coopworth Sheep Soc iety of NorthAmerica website:www.coopworthsheep.orglbylaws.

Breed characteristicsz

~ Coopworths are polled (hornless), with<~ faces and legs free from wool. Usuallyz their faces are white, but colored Coop--> worths have dark skin and tongues. Theo

~ sheep are medium to large size. RamsS average [75 to 300 pounds and ewes, 150~ to 200 pounds. Coopworths have longer

bodies and legs than Romneys. Coop­worth sheep are considered alert andrath er independent. They lamb unas­sisted and can take care of the lambs withlittle or no human interfere nce.

Most Coopwo rth fl eeces are open,wi th staples 5 to 7 inches long that havea good luster and silky handle. The tipsare pointed, making it easy to distinguishthem and separate locks. Fleece weightsare heavy, averaging 10 to 13 pounds pershearing. The wool is in the coarserrange but lamb's wool is softer, and thesilkiness of th e fleece mean s it can beused for a variety of end products. Coop­worth takes dye easily, and its lustermakes the colors sparkle. The fiberdiameter ranges from 30 to 39 microns,equivalent to a Bradford count of 50s to44s. When choosing a Coopworth fleece,remember that Coopworth registrationis based on productivity rather than strictfleece and body standards, so the wool

••

and all variables (lambing rates, weaningweights, fleece weight, ease of care, over­all quality) were analyzed for effectiveculling and selection. The third andfourth generation sheep were consideredequal to the original crossbred animalsand superior to the original Romneys.The new breed was now viable.

The qualit ies emphasized in estab­lishing the breed still determ ine thestandards for registered Coopwo rthsheep . Brian Croot notes that "strictbreeding requirements ensure all Coop­worth stud breeders offer for sale onlythe very best animals with proven geneticperformance in: high lambing percent-

Basics

History of theCoopworth breedNew Zealand's need in the 1950s for high­er lambing percentages instigated thecrossbreeding that eventually resulted inthe Coopworth breed. At first, BorderLeicester rams (at that time, the breedwith the highest lambing percentages inNew Zealand) were bred to Corriedaleewes and also Romney ewes. The BorderLeicester/Corr iedale cross did not meetthe needs and that line was abandoned.Instead, the Border Leicester/Romneycrosses were selected for the foundationstock and these crossbred sheep were in­terbred . Meticulous records were kept

BY CAROL H U E B S C H E R R II O A D E S

Coopworth sheep from Carol and Paul Wagner's flock at Hidden Valley Farmand Woolen Mill,Valders, Wisconsin.

he Coopworth is a relative ly new breed of shee p that originated in New

Zea land and was registered as a breed in 1968. It is a dual-purpose

breed, producing mi ld-tasting meat and long, lustrous woo l. The breed

is named afte r the professor [an Coop who was instrumental in establish ing

the breed through his work at Lincoln College (now Lincoln University) in

Cante rbury, New Zealand. The breed has become very popular in New Zealand

and is now second to Romney in overall numbers. Coopworths are also found

in Australia, North America, and Eastern Eu ro pe.

COOPWORTH

age and lamb meat production, longproductive life, good weight and qualityof wool and easy shepherdi ng." Per­formance is also required fo r CoopworthSheep Society of North America regis­tration: "Ideal Coopworths are excellent

C mothers, sell le quickly, lamb unassisted,~ usually twin, are strong and vigorous at

r-------------------------------..., ~ birth, grow out well on forage, movec- freely on fi elds yet are easily gathered," shear a heavy fleece, yield a good carcass,-e, and are resistant to foot rot." Their re-"~ sistance to foot rot allows them to thrive"% on wet lowlands as well as low hills."

Pi De r

72 I S I' I N . 0 F F I w w W . I :.. T E R W E A V E . C 0 M

can vary from sheep to sheep. The woolshould, however, be consistent within afleece . Carol Wagner, who owns about200 Coopworth sheep, notes that thewhite fleeces can feel coarse but usuallyhave a silky hand and good lock forma­tion . The colored fl eeces can be finer,with less well-defi ned cri mp and lockstructure. The white fleeces I've handledwere similar to Border Leic ester woolwhile the colored Coopwo rth fl eecesseemed more Romney-l ike.

The majority of Coopworth sheep arewhite-wooled because that is desirable forcommercial flocks. However, the BorderLeicester and Romney background of theCoopworth insures an ample presence ofcolor genetics. Colored Coopworth fleecesrange from pale silve rs to charcoal andbrown-greys. Of spec ial interest to thosepreferring colared fle eces are the blue­gray Coopworths. They have dark skin andmay be marked by a white "teardrop"under each eye. The wool appears to havea bluish cast because of dark and lightareas in varying shades of gray.

Preparing Coopworth woolWorking with Coopworth wool shouldbe easy. While wool quality can vary bothbetween sheep and with-in the fleece of one sheep,most Coopworth fl eecesare free-flowing and fair­ly even in quality. Theyshould not be matted,spongy, or hairy. As with

any fl eece, alwayscheck to be sure thatthe wool is consis­tent in calor andcrimp down the en­tire staple length.The exception wouldbe sun-bleached oryellowed tips, whichcan so meti mes beweak. In that case,pull or cu t off thetips. You can test thestaple strength byfirmly grasping eachend of the lock andpopping it wi thout excessive force. Thestaple should withstand the poppingwithout breaking.

You' ll need a big space to spread outa Coopworth fl eece if you want to sepa­rate it into various qualities. Unroll thefleece so that the tips face outward. Lookover th e fl eece to see if there are anyobvious problem areas or sections ofwool stronger or softer than the average.You can either use them separately orblend them evenly with the average wool.Any vegetable matter should be easy toshake out of or pull away from the wool.

Coopworth sheep from Carol and PaulWagner's flock at Hidden Valley Farm andWoolen Mill, Valders, Wisconsin.

For more details on sorting a fleece, readpages 172 to 173 of In Sheep 's Cloth ing(see Resources).

Coopworth fl eeces are not usuallyheavy with grease (my sampling showedan 85 percent yie ld or only 15 percen tweight loss with washing). so washingshould be quick. I sort my fl eeces intoone-pound segments. The wool is placedinto a nylon net bag and submerged gen­tly into a sink fu ll of warm to hot waterwith about Y. cup Orvus paste (you canbuy Orvus at feed stores, where it ischeaper, or at quiltin g supp ly shops). Isoak the wool for five minutes and rinseit in the same temperature water with atablespoon or two of white vinegar in thefi rst rinse to help release the soap from

"~ the fibers. After the second rinse (or third<• if the fl eece was dirt ier than normal), I<

z put the bag of wool into the washing ma->

~ chine and set the spin cycle for a one- to"c two-minute spin. After removing the wool

from the bag, I shake it out a bit so it candry on a flat rack in the backyard. I turnthe wool over when the top side feels dry.

Coopworth fl eeces are easy to sepa­rate into locks. Ifyou want to drumcardor comb the wool, already sorted lockswill make the processing faster. To spindirectly from the locks (either from theends or folded over the finger), openthem quickly by slightly fanning out thecut and tip ends. Aim for a rectangle ofwool that shows ind ividual fibers but stillholds together as a lock. I use the same

S P R I N C 2 (J I) fi I s I' [ N . U F F I 73

•

Spinning CoopworthWhen planning a project with Coopworth,bear in mind that it is a coarse wool. Itwill not feel soft or ethereal. However, thesilkiness of most Coopworth fl eecesmeans that you can have a smooth yarnthat is not at all harsh feeling. Depend­ing on your project and the fl eece, youmight spin a dense or a light yarn. Blend­ing Coopworth with other fibers can shiftthe density and handle somewhat. Try silk,mohair, alpaca, or other wools.

Because of its long stap le length,Coopworth can be spun with a low twist.It is easiest to spin with a short draw andit can be spun from the ends of a lock,the fold, combed top, or strips of a drum­carded batt . Coopwort h is also a goodchoice for t rying out Paula Simmons'sone-hand method for spinning soft yarnquickly (see Resources).

Finishing Coopworth yarns is alsoquick and easy. [ wash the skeins in warmwater with a tablespoon or less of wool­wash, soaking them for about five min­utes and rinsing as fo r the fl eece. I take

the passive card, make sure that there isa break between the fibers on the activeand passive cards before coming back forthe next pass; otherwise, you will fold thefib ers. You can also cut the Coopworthlocks in half before carding. Yarn spunfrom cut locks will need more twist thanyarn spun from the full length of thewool-Alden Amos and Stephanie Gaus­tad explain why in the box to the left.

\)

•

•Wool colors and quantities can vary within a fleece. 1) Four shades of brown and gray from onelamb's Ileece lrom French Hill. 2) Brown Coopworth lamb's Ileece from Hidden Valley.

technique to prepare the wool fo r drum­card ing. Because my Patrick Green Su­percard is electr ic, I simp ly open thelocks and feed them in , making it un­necessary to prepare stac ks of themahead of time.

Coopworth is longer than the usual3-inch maximum for handcarding: how­ever, one can card Coopworth wool with­out too much trou ble. Use wool cardswith 40 or fewer teeth per square inch.When the active card sweeps away from

Sample 1: 1) Lamb's roving ("Valentina") lrom French Hill. Card with sample 01singles yarn (Sfwlst), 3) Small skein of Z·plied yarn (60 yards per ounce, 12 wrapsper inch). 4) Tricot crochet cuff.

J Nip is a term that is used in knot tying-andaccording to Merriam -Webster's CollegiateDictionary , 11th Edition , it is "to catch holdof and squeeze between two surfaces, edges,or points."

Friction anCl twist

The reason one needs to add moretwist to a fiber that has been cut inhalf has to do with the "inte r-fiberfriction" or "nip ." Cut the staplelength in half, and you need twice asmuch twist (for the same diameter/grist yarn) to get an equal amount ofnip. In addition, because the coars­er fibers generally have much greaterrigidity (res istance to twist intro­ducti on ) than fi ner fib ers, the cutstaples also need the ext ra twist toovercome the rigidity as well as theshortened length fo r achieving nip.For mo re on twist, see The AldenAmos Big Book of Handspinning(Love lan d, Co lorado: InterweavePress, 2001), 101- 117.

-Alden Amos andStephenie Gaustad

74 I S P IN · 0 F F I www. I ~ T E R W E A V E . C 0 />l

•1) Brown unwashed Coopworth lamb's fleece from Hidden Valley. 2) White washed and unwashed Coopworth adult fleeces from Hidden Valley.3) Medium gray roving from French Hil l. 4) Light gray roving from Woodland Woolworks.

the skeins outside, flick them by one endand then the other to fling out some ofthe water, and hang them with clothes­pins holding one of the ties used to securethe skein. After the top end is almost dry,I turn each skein, squeeze out the water,and let the other end dry.

Yarn and swatch detailsSample IBreed-specific rovings aren't too hard tofi nd in the United States because manysuppliers of fl eeces for handspinningprocess some of their wool crop into rov­ing and label it with the type of wool andsometimes even the sheep's name. Theroving for this swatch was Valenti na'swool from Fren ch Hill Farm. Beforespinning, I held the roving up to thelight and could see that the fibers we rewell aligned and there were no slubs ornail s (if possible, a lways check rovingbefore purchas ing). The stap le lengthwas about 4\1, inches, so I held my hands5 inches apart while drafting. With thefingers of my left (fiber-holding) hand ,I held the end of the roving in a round­ed rather than flat configuration so thatI could draw fibers from the piece moresmoothly. I treadled slowly while I draft­ed with a short forwa rd draw, and Ismoothed the yarn as the twist went intothe drafted fi bers. I enjoyed seeing allthe shades of gray and brown as they en­ter ed the yarn . I spun the wool coun­terclockwise (S) on a Lendrum at a 12:1ratio and plied clockwise (Z) at 15:1. One

ounce of fiber yielded 60 yards of asmooth and lustrous 2-ply yarn with 12w raps per inch.

I spun the yarn S/Z so it wouldn'ttwist more as I crocheted. For some cro­cheters, the direction of twist does notmake a difference; for me, it does. Beforeembarking on a crochet project, sampleS/Z and ZlS yarns with varying degreesof twist, so you'll know what works withyour particular technique. Tricot crochetmakes a firm fabri c and the Coopworthsemiworsted yarn added to the firmness.

•

However, the smooth yarn was neededto show off the stitches.

I adapted and t ranslated the tricotmotif into modern U.S. crochet terms.For the complete pattern for the cuffsworked in tricot, see Weldon s PracticalCrochet , Twelfth Series, We/don s Practi­cal Needlework, Volume S (Loveland, Col­orado: Interweave Press, 2001 ). For moreon tricot (also called Tunisian or Afghancrochet), see The Harmony Guides, Vol­ume 7: 220 More Crochet Stitches (Lon­don: Collins & Brown, 1998), 85-88.

1) Pair of socks de­sig ned by Carol H.Rhoades, knitted on 11.5.size 2 needles in Water­fa ll patte rn but notdiscussed in article.2) Small skein of yarn­16 wraps per inch.

•

I N C 2 0 0 6 I S P I N · 0 F F I 75

o

With tricot hook or straight-handledcrochet hook 0.5. size F or 4 mm, loose­ly chain 36 sts or a multiple of 5 plus 1.Row 1: Pick up 1 st in each eh across (36

loops on hook). Work back: Draw yarnthrough first st on hook, *ch 1, yarnover hook and draw it through 3 ststogether (through 4 loops), eh 1, yarnover hook and draw through next st(that is, through 2 loops), yarn ove rhook and draw through next st; repeatfrom * across.

Row 2: Pick up loop through vertical tricotstrand on seco nd si of previous row,*pick up one loop each: under ch st ,

through back loop of the 3 sts together,under ch st, and in each vertical loopof next 2 sts: repeat from * across, end­ing with a loop through 1 tricot st atend. Work back as for Row 1.

Repeat Row 2 until piece is desiredlength .

Sample 2I had originally planned to flick card thislamb's fl eece and spin it from the locks.However, I spotted some leftover gray al­paca and decided to blend it with thewool. For a batt, 1weighed Y, ounce ofeach fiber and teased open the fl eecesmaking a separate pile of each. I putsome alpaca covered with a light layer ofwool on the carder's infeed tray and thenfed in the fibers. After cardi ng all thebatts, I tore each lengthwise into sixstrips so that each of the six piles had apiece from each of the original batts. Thenext pass completed the blending.

The fiber blend's handle was so niceI decided to spind le-spi n the yarn . Itested a couple of spindles and chose aTracy Eichheim spind le weighing 1.1ounces. I str ipped each th in batt intofour lengths and spun with a short draw.

Sample Z: Fleece sample 01 1) grayalpaca ("Eyre Apparent," maturegelding lrom Deborah McMurtrie)and Z) washed qray-brown Coop­worth lamb (Irom French Hill Farm).]) Skein of spindle-spun yarn, 2 ply,61.1 yards per ounce, 13 wraps perinch. 4) Knitted mitten with Lemon­stitch cull.

•

•I speeded up the process at the end byplying on my Lendrum with a 12:1 ratio.The 165 yards of two-ply yarn weighed2.7 ounces (61.1 yards per ounce) andwas 13 wraps per inch.

This blend's fib ers were not veryspringy, so I chose Lemon stitch for themitten 's cuff because it is a very elasticribbing. The mitten was knitted on 0 .5.size 2 needles.

The Lemon st itch, used for severalgarments in Weldon's Praclical Knitter,

is a multiple of 6 sts.Rounds 1-3: *K3, p3; repeat from *

around.Round 4: *Yo, sll, kztog, psso, yo, p3; re­

peat fro m * around.

Sample 3This white adult Coopworth was easy toprepare and spin. I fl ick carded each lockwith a quick snap to open it up and spun

76 I S P IN· 0 F F I www. I ~ T E R W E A V E . C 0 />l

Sample 3: 1) Card with sample of singles yarn (Z twist). 2) Small skein of singlesyarn (21 wraps per inch, 100 yards per ounce). 3) Lace swatch.

it from the tip end. To control th e lock,I folded three fingers over th e cut endhalf and supported the tip end over myindex finger (half bent) and und er mythumb (pointing to th e wheel's orifice).The singles yarn was spun Z (clockwise)on my Schacht with a 9:1 ratio. 1treadledslowly as 1drafted out 2 inches of fiberbefore smoo th ing th e yarn as the twistentered it. It was important to move onlyth e drafting hand so that the yarn wentonto the bobbin right away. To fi nish thesing les yarn (21 wraps per inch, lOOyards per ounce), 1 wound it onto aniddy-noddy and steamed it (protectingmy hands, of course) .

Paired decreases in lace patterns andlarger needles help eliminate the biasingassociated with singles yarns and knit­tin g. A preliminary swatch knitted onU.S. size 4 needles was very lively but thepattern was buried. With U.S. size 6 nee­dles, the pattern was more visible andthe fabric was still bouncy. It would makea nice scarf or shawl.

•

•

Cockle-Shell knitting pattern(adapted by Carol H. Rhoades fromWeldon 5 Practical Knitter, Tenth Series,Weldon 5 Practical Needlework, Volume4 [Loveland, Colorado: Interweave Press,2001])

Multiple of 9 plus 2 stitches .Row 1 (WS): *K2, pl , k5, pI ; repeat from

* and end k2.Row 2 (RS): *K3, (yo, kl ) 6 times; repeat

from * and end k2.Row 3 : *K2, p13; repeatfrom * and end

k2.Row 4: *K2, ssk, k9, k2tog: repeat from

* and end k2.Row 5: *K2, p2tog, p7, p2tog tbl; repeat

from * and end k2.Row 6: *K2, ssk, k5, k2tog: repeat from

* and end k2.Repeat Rows 1-6 fo r desired length

and end with Row 1.As you can see, Coopworth wool offe rs

a range of possibilities for projects. Itblends well with other long fibers such asmohair, silk, and alpaca. My favorite blend

..

is Coopworth and kid mohair (my knittedtea cozy will be featured in an upcorningSpin -Off article) . By experimenting withpreparat ion methods, spinning tech­niques, and the amount of twist, you' ll besurprised and pleased at the lovely Coop­worth yarns you can produce.

Many thanks to Carol Wagner (HiddenValley Farm and Woolen Mill, 14804 New­ton Rd. ,Valders, WI 54245; hvfarmwoolenmill@lakefield.net; www.hiddenvalleyfarmwoolenmill.com) and Diane Trussell(French Hill Farm, Pf) . Box 82, Solon,ME 04979; diane@frenchhillsheepandwool.com; www.frenchhillsheepandwool.com/fhI) who generously provided fleecesand roving for this article. '$l

CAROL RIIOADES of Austin, Texas, is fascinated

by the myriad Qualities of wool, and she enjoys

discovering what each fleece has to offer.

ResourcesCoopworth Sheep Society of Australia Inc.

wwwcoooworth.org.au.Coopworth Sheep Society of New Zealand.

wwwcoopworth.org.nz.Coopworth Sheep Society of North America.

www.coopworthsheep.org: CSSNA Inc.,25101 Chris Lane N.E., Kingston, WA98346; rainfarm@tscnet.com.

Buchanan, Rita, Mary Spanos, and PatriciaEmerick. "One Fleece Three Ways,"Spin-Off 23, 1 (Spring 1999), 54-63.

Croot, Brian. "Coopworth-Coloured."In TheWorld ofColoured Sheep, edited by RogerS. Lundie and Elspeth J. Wilkinson. NewZealand: The Black and Coloured SheepBreeders'Association ofNew Zealand, 2004.

Fournier, Nola, andlane Fournier.ln Sheep sClothing: A Handspinner's Guide to Wool.Loveland, Colorado:Interweave Press, 1995.

Home, Beverley. Fleece in YDur Hands: Spin­ning with a Purpose: Notes and Projects.Loveland, Colorado:Interweave Press, 1979.

New Zealand Wool Board.New Zealand Sheepand Their Woo!. Well ington, New Zealand:Grower Services Division, New ZealandWool Board, 1980.

Simmons, Paula. Spinning tor Softness andSpeed. Chilliwack, British Columbia,Canada: Sunrise Printing, 1982.

Walker, Linda Berry. "Know Your SheepBreeds: Coopworth." Spin'Off 13, 3 (Fall1989), 27.

._-. "The Quest for the Blue Sheep: ASimple Project, and a Dream." Spin-Off13, 3 (Fall 1989), 28--30.

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S P R I N C 2 0 0 6 I S P I N . 0 F F I 79

war ••

Spinning bulky low-twist yarns for domino knitting

BY C AR OL H UE B S CII ER RIIO ADE S

HE ORIGINAL INSPIRATION for this lap rug came from the Coopworth project inBeverley Home's Fleece in Your Hands (Interweave, 1979). She designed a blockpattern rug or wall hanging with three colors of Coopworth. 1wanted something

similar that would be easier to knit and cozier. Adomino-knitted throw immediately cameto mind. I sampled the spinning and decided on a low-twist two-ply yarn. I knitted thefirst swatch on V.S. size 10Y, needles, but the yarn felt a bit hairy. Contrary to expectations,changing to smaller needles (V.S. size 9) made the knitted swatch feel softer. Because thelap rug is modular, you can easily make it smaller or larger by adjusting the number orsize of the squares.

.....__Project Notes __......

Finished size: 27" x 38"; P/4pounds.

Fiber: 9 ounces brown lamb, 16 ouncesmedium gray and 10 ounces white adultCoopworth Ileece (all obtained lrom Hid­den Valley Farm).

Varn: 2-ply bulky yarn (Iamb's wool-33yards per ounce; adult wDol-25 yardsper ounce); 7 wraps per inch . Eachsquare required about 12 yards of yarn.The entire lap rug used 228 yards 01brown. 204 yards 01 white, and 343yards 01 gray.

Gauge: Asquare = 5lf/' across the dlaq­anal (Irom point to point).

Needles: 11.5. size 9.

PreparationEach fl eece was washed as described inthe Fiber Basics article (see page 75). Thewool was carded on my Patrick GreenSupercard drumcarder. I turned on themachine, teased each lock well, and fedit in. Each batt was smoothly carded inone pass and provided enough yarn forone square. The project could be speed­ed up by using Coopworth roving.

Spinning[ tore each ll-inch-wide batt into four

lengthwise strips and spun the strips onmy Louet 5-90 whee l with a 6:1 rati o.With my hands several inch es apart , 1

drafted with a short forward draw. 1trea­dIed slowly as the twist entered the fib erand then moved the yarn quickly ontothe bobbin. To keep the yarn from beingtoo slack or hairy, [ added a bit moretwist to the ply. with an 8.5:1 ratio on theLouet 5-90. The skeins were then washedin warm water with woolwash , rinsed,and hung outside, unweighted, to dry.

It is very important when spinning fordomino knitting that the yarns all knitto the same gauge. Because 1used woolfrom three different-quality fl eeces. itwas a bit tricky to obtain the necessaryconsistency. Experimentation showedthat the number of wraps per inch wasmore impor tant than the number ofyards per ounce because the lamb's woolwas a fin er micron count and probablyhad more sho rt fib ers, so more air wastrapped in it.

The lap rug was knitted following theprinciples of domino knitting. For moreon the details of the technique. see VivianHoxbro's Domino Knitting (InterweavePress, 2002). Basically. after knitting thefirst square. turn it so that the points arenorth. south, east. and west. and sta rtthe next square with the last stitch of the

one just knitted. Tails can be woven inas you knit or afterwards. The throw iscomposed of squares and right- and left­side triangles. See the diagram for theknitting sequence.

The cast-on number for each squareis 27 sts. Each square on the first rowstarts with a knit cast-on. After that,stitches for the squares are picked up andknitted along the left side of one squareand the right side of the next. The cen­ter stitch of each square should be pickedup and knitted at the tip of the squarebelow. When picking up stitches. insertthe needle under both loops of knit cast­on or slip-stitch edges.

SquareKnit cast on 27 sts (or pick up and

knit 27 sts).Row 1 (WS): K26. pl ,Row 2 (RS): 51l kwise, kll , sll, k2tog.

psso, kll, pl ,Row 3: SIl kwise, knit to last st, pl .

Repeat Rows 2 and 3, with 1 less knitst on each side of double decrease until3 sts remain.Last RS row: SIl , k2tog. psso. Cut yarn

and leave loop of last stitch; do notbind off-it will be the first stitch ofthe next square.

S P R I N C 2 0 0 6 I S PI N· 0 F F I 81

Left-side triangle (these are thetriangles on the left side of the lap rug)

Pick up and knit 14 sls along left sideof lower square.Row J (lVS): SII kwise, k to last st, pI.Row2 (RS): SII kwise, k to last 3 sts, ssk,

pI.Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until 3 sts re­

mam.

Next RS row: SIl kwise, p2tog.Next \VS row: SI1 kwise, pI.Last row: Ssk.

Right-side triangle (worked onright side of lap rug)

Work as for left-side triangle, startingalong the right side of the square below,but work Row 2 as fo llows: SIl kwise,

Carol was careful to keep thethree yarns she made consis­

tent in wraps per inch (7)so that the domino

knitting wouldgo smoothly.

k2tog, k to last st, pI.Begin by knitting the three brown and

two white squares for the bottom row.Knit each square separately leaving thelast stitch open. These stitches will beused to start the stitches on the squareor tr iangle above it.

Place a brown square so that the tipwith the last (open) stitch points up.Place that stitch on the needle, and thenpick up and knit 13 sls along the left sideof the square (14 sts total). Work a left­side triangle. Leave the last stitch of thetriangle open so that you can knit intoit when a square meets it.

Start the next panel: Place a whitesquare to the right of the brown squareso that the side points meet. Place the

last st onto the needle, and then pick upand knit 12 sts along the left side of thewhite square: pick up and knit 1st at thepoint joining white and brown squares(inserting needle under loops of bothsquares): pick up and knit 13 sts alongthe right side of the brown square (27 slson needle). Complete the white square.Continue in the same way, following thesequence shown on the diagram.

After knitting all the squares and tri­angles, weave in ends if you haven't alreadydone so. Block the lap rug by carefullysteam-pressing under a damp cloth, orwash it in woolwash and warm water.Rinse in war m water and then roll thepiece in a large towel to absorb excesswater. Smooth or pin out the throw andlet it dry. Because the yarns are bulky,the th row may need some time to drythoroughly. While it dries. fi nd a goodbook or a small project. The lap throw isheavy enough to stay put and big enoughto keep your lap and legs warm and cozywhile reading or doing a proj ect.

Many thanks to Vivian Hoxbro for per­mission to share the domino knittingtechniques used in this project. IS

CAROLIIUEBSCIlER HIl OAIJES ofAustin. Texas, ishoping to live in a more uool-suitable climate

one ofthese days.

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SP R I N C 2006 1 S P I N · OF FI 8 3

Polwarth fleece singles showthe cola, transition of theroving before plying.

for your inspiration

Deborah Wolfe of Cookevllle, Tennessee, modelsher Faroese shawl.

Karin Worling of Belleville, Ontario,Canada, was immediately inspired by thecolor blend when she first saw the Pol­warth fi ber she used in this shawl at theYarn Source, a weaving and knitting supplystore near her town. The fleece came fromAustralia and was dyed in Manitoba beforebeing blended into rovings. Envisioning ahandspun and woven triangu lar shawl,Karin was spurred on by her spinningmentor, Lise Noakes of the Yarn Source.Although Karin was initially hesi-tant to take on yet another projectLise convinced her that she could fitit int o her schedule if she just setaside some time on a daily basis. Inthe summer of 2004, Karin beganher work on the shawl with 8 ouncesof the Polwarth roving that she splitinto two equal sections lengthwiseand wound into two matching con­tinuous balls. For about one month,Karin spun in the mornings on herdeck overlooking the Bay of Quintewhile bird-watching and occasion-ally ente rtaining company overcoffee . Using her Lendrum double­treadle wheel and a long draft, Karinfilled four bobbins of tightly spun singles,numb ering them so that she could keepher colorway in order. Starting from thematching end of her second ball of roving,she fill ed four more bobbins of singles.When it was finally time to ply, Karin wascareful to ply the bobbins in orde r, work­ing backwards, four, three, two, and one.This careful tracking allowed her to pro­duce yarn with both plies in almost anidentical color transition. After plying theyarns, she washed them and hung themto dry over a broomstick without weight.Karin decided to design her shawl using 8ounces of a coordinating solid-coloredBluefaced Leicester that she had previouslyspun for a knitting project that did not ma­terialize.

Karin alternated the Polwarth andBluefaced Leicester yarns as she wound

her warp at 10 ends per inch and wove aplain weave cloth , again alternating thetwo yarns, on her Louet countermarchfloor loom. The construction of the shawlwas based on an art icle by Barbara Tay­lor Farnum in the Summer 1985 issueof Handmade.

Since finishing her project, Karin hasworn the shawl to guild meetings andvarious craft shows, garnering compli ­ments from spinning and weaving peers.

HANDSPUNGALLERYo!

Shawls

Deborah Wolfe of Cookeville,Tennessee, named her projectTennessee Twilight because thecolorway is reminiscent of thehills and valleys at twilight in herregion. After completing hershawl, Deborah was excited toshare the project with her "spin­ning community." Unfortunate­ly, Deborah doesn 't have a localcommunity of spinners withwhom to share her accomplish­ments so she sent photos of hershawl to Sp in -Off,

Deborah starte d her shawlfrom 12 ounces each of three dif­ferent rnulticolored Colonial woolrovings purchased from BlueGoose Glen at the CannonsburgFiber Festival in October 2004. In-

spired by a Faro ese shawl she had re­cently knitted with fitted shoulders thatallow the shawl to stay on during wear,Deborah decided to create her own ve r­sion. Deborah hand-dyed two 8-ouncebatches of Merino top from Ohio ValleyFibers wi th ProChern acid-fast dyes to co­ordinate with her multicolored singles.One portion was dyed green while theot her turned into a happy accident ofblues and purples,

After lightl y carding the Merinowith her Ashford cotto n cards toloosen the fibers, Deborah spun two­ply yarn on her Ashford Traditional ata 12.5:1 ratio with a short fo rwarddraw. Deborah achieved a soft andspringy yarn at 13 to 15 wraps perinch and about 1,400 yards per pound.She washed the yarn in warm waterwith Eucalan and draped it on a dry­ing rack to dry without weight.

Deborah used the Catharina pat­tern from Stahman's Shawls andScarves' as a guide for the shoulder

o"o=e,

S P R I N C 2 0 0 6 I S PI N . 0 F F I 85

I Stahman. Mym a A. I. Stahman s Shawls andScarves: Lace Faroese-Shaped Shawls from theNeck Doum & Seamen sScon es. Boise. Idaho:Rocking Chair Press. 2000.

2 Hamlyn Publishing Group: The Knitting Collec­tion. New York: Golden Press. 1982.

3 www.yamharfot.ca/blog/images/snowdrop_shawl_vl.O.pdf

Two of the yarns Oeborah Wolfe used to ere­ate her Faroese shawl.

Ooborah Wolfo of Cooko.mo,Tennessee, created calor transitionsin her shawl using five different yarns.

shaping of this shawl. To avoid a stripedshawl, Deborah alternated colors everytwo rows for six rows at each color tran­sition. After completing the shouldershaping, she began a pattern insert at thecenter back using the Branched Fern pat­tern from The Knilling Collection.' Deb­orah completed the design with a five­stitch garter-stitch border on either sideof the center panel and on the edge of theshawl while increasing at the edge everyother row.

Carol Dowell of Yuma, Colorado, isan active member of the High PlainsSpinners and Weavers Guild, a guild whois always looking for ways to fu rther in­terest in fiber arts and fibe r production .The guild sponsors community andschool projects and presents variousdemonstrations. Carol was inspired by

Stephan ie Pea rl-McPhee's SnowdropShawl' pattern and found the perfect op­portunity to use it when her guild de­cided to donate handmade items toRocky Mountain Public Broadcast ingSystem's "Wi ld, Wild Auction."

Pat Noah, another guild member, tookon the responsibil ity of preparing a do­nated fl eece for Carol to knit. Pat startedby placing the fleece in a mesh bag to soakin hot water with a litt le Dawn dish­washing soap. She added vinegar to thefi rst rinse and then rinsed a second timewith just hot water. She put the mesh bagof wool into her washing machine with itset to the spin cycle to get the water outand then hung it on the clothesline to dry.After the wool dried, Pat handpicked thefleece to remove vegetable matter and ranit through her Patrick Green drumcarderwith the fur head attachment. Pat spunthe wool on her Schacht wheel with ahigh-speed whorl using a long-drawmeth od. The resulting two-ply yarn isabout 24 wraps per inch.

Once Carol had the laceweight yarnin hand, she began working on the Snow­drop Shawl pattern, modifying it to addmore snowdrop repeats and replace theplain knit triangle wi th additional snow­drop motifs. She also replaced the I-cordedging with a single crochet stitch to sta­bilize the top edge of the shawl. Carol wasso pleased with the results of her project

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that it was hard to let it go, even to a goodcause. The shawl along with eight otheritems completed by the guild's memberswas displayed on the PBS website for amonth leading up to the April 23, 2005,televised auction. The broadcast reachedmore than 1.8 mill ion viewers in Col­orado and the Rocky Mountain regionand is a major fundraiser for the supportof Rocky Mountain PBS.

It was a great surprise to Carol whenon Mother's Day she received the shawlfrom her three children and their spous­es who had watched the many hours shespent knitting the shawl and then pur­chased th e shawl for her from RockyMountain PBS. \f>

Unprocessed Rambouillet fiber.

24th Annual

I ·

For registration materials, send your name and address (no SASE) to:SOAR 2006Interweave Press20 I East Fourth Street. Loveland, CO 80537-5655

•www.mterweave.corn(970) 669-7672 ext. 672 or fax (970) 669-61 17

LOCATIONGranlibakken Resort in Tahoe City, California. also the site of SOAR 2002,is nestled in its own picturesque mountain valley at an elevation of 6,200 feet, a

mile from Lake Tahoe, California. Granlibakken's natural setting contrasts with its

modern conveniences; it is only 55 minutes from the RenofTahoe InternationalAirport in Reno. Nevada.

Autumn RetreatOctober 29-November 5, 2006Tahoe City, California

With twelve mentors offering a variety of three-day workshops and half-dayretreat sessions, spinners novice to advanced will participate in an unforget­table experience. There wi ll be plenty of unstructured t ime for sharing your

passion as well as a spinners' market and gallery, fash ion show, spin-in, and theopportunity to hear musings from Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (aka the Yarn Harlot).Come for all or part of the week.

W orkshop Only: October 29- November ITu ition is $300 (plus workshop materials fee)

Retreat Only: November 2-5Tu ition is $305 (includes materials fees)

Workshop and Retreat: October 29-Novem ber 5TU ition is $580 (plus workshop materials fee)

REGISTRATIONThe SOAR registration booklet with full Information will be available inMarch by mail and on the Interweave website at www.interweave.com.

THREE·DAY WORKSHOPSOctober 3D-November I

Rudy Amann • Spinning Wool, 20 IJeannine Bakriges • Of Moths, Milk. and More: Spinning Silken Fibers

Nancy Bush and Judith MacKenzie McCuin • From Our Handsto Yours: The Art and History of Hand Coverings

Maggie Casey • Spinning 101: Learn to Spin or Refresh Your SkillsSharon Costello • Featherweight Felt

Stephenie Gaustad • The Cellulosics: Cotton, Flax. Ramie. and Hemp

Sara Lamb • Contemporary Cut PileDeb Menz • Survey of Synthetic Dyes

Andrea Mielke • Single-Minded Spinn ingLinda Shelhamer • Spin Your Own Stripes

§iI1ti.> INTERWEAVE PRESS.110 www.interweave.com

RETREAT SESSIONSNovember 3-4

Rudy Amann • Nalbinding

Alden Amos • As the Wheel Turns

Jeannine Bakriges • N ew Wave Fibers

Maggie Casey • Boucle the Easy WaySharon Costello • Felt Soap

Stephenie Gaustad • Weaving a Wool Gatherers Basket

Sara Lamb· Cardweaving

Judith MacKenzie McCuin • Three W ild Downs: Bison.Cashmere, and Yak

Deb Menz • Paint Your Own Handspun Yarns

Andrea Mielke • Loop Flowers w ith Hairp in Lace

Linda Shelhamer • Punch Needle Embroidery for Spinners

ALPINE MEADOWFillERS & YARNS

Dealer inquiries.. invited.

STRAUCH'S FINESTFree Shipping and Girt!

.JENSEN 24" or 30" Cherry\Vheel wlDistafT, 3 Bobbins

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BOUNTIFUL, 211 Green Mountain Dr., Livermore, CO 80536(970) 482-7746' Fax (970) 484·0058 • Order Line: (877) 586-9332

E·mail: info @bountifulspinweave.comWebsite: www.bountifulspinweave.com

VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR SPECIALS

IVISA I eB l.;g!1 lE ILAYAWAY IH~-i

www.coopworthsheep.orgor contact secretary, Marcia Adams

2510 1 Chris Lane N.E.

Kingston WA 98346

360-297-4485

For sources of thi s wonderful fi ber and

more informat ion about the breed,

please visit

CSSNA Registered SheepProduce a long, silky, lustrous fleece

with a spinning co unt of 46-50.Staple length averages 5-8 inches.

It's a favorile with handspinners,

From novice to expert!AND

They are easy to care for,

Lamb unassisted, usuafly with twins,

and make very efficient use of pasture!

Sucidy o ( Norl lt Ame r ic n I n c.Registering performance recorded

Coopworths since 1986

\' ~ O R TH SIo il;'cP v , '1;',1)

email : rainfann @tscnet.com

New Shop Hours, 10-6,00 PM Wedand Sun. by appt.

540-937-4707

Spinning and WeavingEquipment and Supplies

• Louet • Timbertops• Bosworth • Schacht• Lendrum • Ashford• Majacraft • Ertoel

Now carrying Fricke equipmen t!

Sale: Beautiful Cashmere/Silk Top S.OO/OlTussah s ilk 4.o% z.

Finnsheep Combed Top 18.5011bHandpainted Finn Top 2 .50/0l

SP R I N C 2006 1 s P I N · O F F I 8 9

Your Yarn! Charkha-Spun Yarns!

We love opening Your Yarn! packagesand reading the details you include. Wehave found that handling yarns can betricky and were so pleased by the sub­missions sent in on bits of cardboardthat we would like to encourage every­one to send in their entries like this.

Charkhas can be a great tool for short staple fibers, While 75 percent of the entriessubmitted contained cotton, readers prove that many other fibers can be successfullyspun on a charkha. Some of you that plied on a drop spindle or wheel commented thatplying on your charkha was not optimal. Sti ll, only 18 percent of the entries weresingles yarns, while 65 percent were two-ply. Several other yarn structures are repre­sented as well. Charkha spinners gather online at the charkha group hosted by Yahoo!(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/charkha/). Many entries were spun using cigar-boxcharkhas built following instructions in Marilyn Rishel Suit 's article, "Cigar-BoxCharkha," in the Winter 1996 issue ofSpin-Off. We have had so many requests for thissold-out back issue that we have made Marilyn's article available on our website atwww.interweave.com/spin/projects_articles.asp.

The Your Yarn! department will be on summer vacation next issue. Your Yarn!will return in Fall 2006 featuring cabled yarns; the deadline to submit is June 15,2006. Please send a five-yard length of handspun yarn labeled with your name,mailing address, phone number, e-rnail address (ifyou have one), and fiber content.Mail your yarn, and any comments you may have, to Spin 'Off Your Yarn, 201 E.Fourth St., Loveland, CO 80537-5655. Call or e-rnail us with questions at (970) 61 3­4672 or spinoff@interweave.com. The yarn won't be returned, but it will be used toraise money for a worthy charity. See page 95 to learn more about Spin -Off charityauctions.

.. Rickie van BerkumStony Brook, New YorkYak down, 15 w.p.i,

« Belly ClarksonLancaster, PennsylvaniaCotswold cross, 14 w.p.i.

.. Marjorie BellringerPalrner, AlaskaAlaskan wild moose, 16 w.p.i .

LilIian Goldberg ~Canton, Massachusetts

Cotton, 16 w.p.i.

,

Anne O' onnor ~University Park, Maryland

Cotton/wool, 16 w.p.i.

.. Helen SegulnSpring City, PennsylvaniaCotton/tussah si lk, 13 w.p.i.

""'I( Christine DalzielGreenwood, British Columbia,CanadaCotton, 12 w.p.i.

« Andrea (Cookie)Livingston-ShurmanHayward, CaliforniaCotton/silk, 9 wp.i.

l\1orgaine Wilder >­San Francisco, California

Cotton, 10 w.p.i.

Laurel Wnght ~Salt Lake City, Utah

Pill bottle cotton, 13 w.p.i.

Sue Spencer >­Cooperstown, Pennsylvania

Egyptian cotton/ray 12 w.p.i.

90 I S P IN -O F F I WWW.INTERWEAVE.CO J\1

-< Jessica SewellNewtonville, MassachusettsPersian feline, 25 w.p.i .

-< Karen BellimerLiverpool, New YorkCotton, 24 w.p.i.

-< Jacquelyn BrewerChampaign. Ill inoisCotton, 26 w.p.i .

-e Sberry CoxManahawkin, New JerseyCotton/silk noil, 21 w.p.i.

-< Nancy AlegriaSan Francisco, CaliforniaCotton, 23 w.p.i.

-< Roseann MauroniAlexandria, VirginiaCotton, 22 w.p.i.

Juti Winchester >­Cody, Wyoming

Cotton, 23 w.p.i.

,Helen Demck >­

Fort Bragg, Californ iaCotton, 24 w.p.i.

Kate Flynn »San Mateo, California

Cotton/rayon, 25 w.p.i.

Judy Gilchrist »Duxbury, Massachusetts

Cotton, 22 w.p.i.

Lori Gayle »Arlinaton, Massachusetts

Cotton/cotton denim,26 w.p.i.

Martha Janzen >­Louisville, Kentucky

Cotton/milk silk, 26 w.p.i.

-< Kevin DeVriesCrown Point, IndianaCotton, 20 w.p.i.

-< Cyndy GrimmBrainerd, MinnesotaCotton, 18 wp.i.

-< Alicia SantiagoQueen Creek, ArizonaYak down, 17 w.p.i.

-< Susan OberFulks Run, VirginiaCotton, 20 w.p.i.

-< Lynn RugglesBoise. IdahoCotton/rayon, 20 w.p.i.

-e Pam BlaskoOxford, ConnecticutMerinoffencel , 16 w.p.i.

Glenna humbley >Huntsville, Texas

Merino/silk, 18 w.p.i.

-

Vivien Wright »Bridgnorth. Shropshire,

EnglandCotton, 20 w.p.i.

Maureen Yukl >­Clifton Park , New York

Cotton, 17 w.p.i.

Carol Phillpott »North Canterbury, Kent,

EnglandTussah silk, 20 w.p.i.

'Ienny Sennott >­Centralia, Missouri

Peruvian cotton, 20 w.p.i.

Katie Cosmic-Phillips >­Redway, Califo rnia

Cormo/cotton/silk, 21 w.p.i.

••

S P R I N C 2 0 0 6 I S P I N· 0 F F I 91

BUY 3, GET A 4TH ONE FREE!

Bobbin Special...a spinner's quarter dozen.

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Use our On-lintSh()ppillg Canal:

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T he Petal Pon choC reuted beauti f ul ly an d ea si ly o nn UT S p ri g ~s M.iustahl e T'rf an pleF r a m e Loom. or. by combiningsmaller pieces created on our Travel Tri·and Square Looms. Contact us for t hisNew Patte rn for the frame looms, andfor our Frame Loom Brnchure. 1· 8UU·874-9328

YARN BARN of Kansas1-800-468-0035930 Massachusetts

Lawrence, KS 66044

Request our free calorWeaving & Spinning

Catalog or visit

yarnbarn-ks.com

Ashford: Reg. SD $8.75 Louet: Regu lar $29.50Reg. DD $9.95 Hi-Speed $29.50Joy $10.00 Fatcore $44.00Lace $12.25 Bulky $33.95Jumbo SD $10.00 Schacht: Regular $32.00Jumbo DD $11.25 Hi-Speed $32.00

Kromski: Unfinished $13.00 Reeves Ash $29.50Fini shed $15.00 Reeves Cherry $34.00

Majacraft: Plastic $13.00Wooden $25.00 Offer good through June I. 2005.

Shipping not included.

92 I S P I N • 0 F F I WWW. 1 N T E R W E A V E . C 0 j\J

-< Elizabeth RibbleBradenton, FloridaCotton, 35 w.p.i.

-< Sue PetersonBellevue, WashingtonMerino, 36 w.p.i.

-< Margaret MoreSan Jose, CaliforniaUpland cotton, 40 w.p.i.

-< Barbara Clorite-VenturaWaltham, MassachusettsCotton, 38 w.p.i.

-e Susan TauckMarcngo, Il linoisCotton, 39 w.p.i.

•

Jutta Frankie >­Berkeley, California

Cotton, 38 w.p.i.

Selah Barling ~Seattle. Washington

Romney, 36 w.p.i.

Mary LOll Ricci >­Blaustown, New Jersey

Cotton, 35 w.p.i.

Tomoko Sophie Hogen >­Tokyo, Japan

Cotton/rayon, 39 w.p.i.

-< Crystal CanningEast Burke. VermontCotton, 27 w.p.i.

-< Morgan AdcockWatervliet, New YorkCotton, 31 w.p.i.

-< Judith SorgenMill Valley, CaliforniaCotton/ramie, 32 w.p.i.

-< Ineke v.d. HeijdenGoor, The NetherlandsCotton, 28 w.p.i.

-< Deborah TodhunterCordova, TennesseeSilk, 29 w.p.i.

Jeannine Glaves >­Tulsa, Oklahoma

Cotton/silk, 32 w.p.i.

Laura Chlnn-Smoot >­San Francisco, California

Cotton, 31 wp.i.

Susan Forsyth >­Maple Ridge,

British Columbia, CanadaCotton, 28 w.p.i.

Myra Donnan ~Rensselaerville, New York

Tussah silk/mohair, 28 w.p.i.

Elisa Mui Eiger >­Montville, New Jersey

Cotton denim, 32 w.p.i.

Angela Schneider >­Germantown, Tennessee

Angora, 33 w.p.i.

-< Lydia ToweryGastonia, North CarolinaCotton, 32 w.p.i.

Rosemary Janes >­Redway, CaliforniaSilk latte, 42 w.p.i.

Ruth Griffiths ~Fort Moody, British

Columbia, CanadaCotton, 40 w.p.i.

-< Kenna GoldenSan Francisco, CaliforniaPima cotto r 2· .i .

•

S P R I N C 2 0 0 6 I S P I N . 0 F F I 93

http://www.minimills.net

WE MANUFACTURE COMPLETE COTTAGE

INDUSTRY MILLS FOR FIBRE PROCESSING

• • •

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Canada COA \ AO

Telephone: \ ·902-659-2533

Fax: \ -902-659-2248

E-mail: Richard@minimills.net

The demand is where you are

and bigger than ever!

MINI..MILLS,

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www.babesfibergarden.comCatalog: 1-800-628-3208

Babe' s Production Wheelwith a Woolee Winder

Single or Double T readle

Care/ Slzs/Conlentl abels

Ayailable

ApU

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~......GJ!\1 LU'e>: "" W1!1\e,C'e.a"1 G,I)I.!~li<.~.....Noa"YWM e Cream B10ck

36 label, for 00G,,,,,, Goklen,(l(l ""While Gold LUre>: 00 a " S , Ulac:,s~, Green, Noa,.,. 72 labels Ior $31,50

Blul . Srown, SiII'k. Pin~ "" While, Crum l-H _ !or$49.50

PolJ _1$ aocl

6% ......... w, ~ • -".... """ and_~ $4 ,95

Total IS

"'" t All_ ~_I .....1.....,.8006

94 1 S P I N- O F F I WWW.INTERWE AVE.CO J\1

Barbara (bj) Heeke ~Waco, Texas

Cotton, 42 w.p.i.

Ellen Hall ~Fultondale, AlabamaKid mohair, 44 w.p.i.

Mary Underwood ~Ann Arbor, Michigan

Mongolian cashmere, 47 w.p.i.

""'I( Sage l\1cKenzieLampassas, TexasYak down, 40 w.p.i.

..Amy DurgelohPalmer, AlaskaCotton/silk, 44 w.p.i .

""'I( Julie BeersHenderson, NevadaPima cotton, 44 w.p.i .

Kate Campbell-Taylor ~Martinez, California

Cotton, 48 w.p.i.

Jessica l\1adsen >­Ann Arbor, Michigan

Cotton, 54 w.p.i.

Christine Johnson >­Gilroy, CaliforniaCotton, 70 w.p.i.

-< Susan Sullivan l\1aynardBrisbane, CaliforniaCotton/silk, 48 wp.i.

-< Amanda HannafordGrampound, Cornwall,United KingdomCotton, 50 w.p.i.

..Willard C. TaylorMartinez, CaliforniaCotton, 66 wp.i.

Your Yarn in ActionThe eBay auction of these fingerless mitts will be held March 6-16,

2006, to benefit the Craft Eme rgency Re lief Fund (C ERF). CERFprovides emergency relief assistance, professio nal and businessdevelopment support, and resources to craft artists. CERF was foundedin 1985 by Caro l Sedestrom Ross, Mari lyn Dintenfass, and JoshSimpso n in an effort to formalize and build on the gene rosity theyhad experienced within the craft community. In 1987 CE RF bega nmaking loans and since then, the organization has helped more than400 professional craft artists with over $650,000 in financial assistance,and about $200,000 in donated services. For more info rmation onCERF, visit www.crafternergency.org,

Amanda Berka, Spin-Offs assistant editor, used yarnsfeatured in the Your Yarn! Cellulose and Protein! de­partment in the Summer 2005 issue of Spin-Off forthese mitts.

Recently AuctionedJoanna Gleasori's Tapestry Box Purse was auctioned on eBay in December to benefit the American Textile Muse­

um. The auction raised $250.48 fo r the American Textile Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts. "The purse is absolute­ly beautiful and incredibly inspiring. I can't wait to make more beaded yarns of my own!" remarked winning bidder,K. Hayes.

S P R I N C 2 0 0 6 I S P I N . 0 F F I 95

VOLUME XXX SPRING 2006•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Abbreviations & Glossary

\r

"zc

!

Shoebox lazy kate

Knitted cast-on: Make a slipknot and place it on a nee­die held in your left hand. ' With a free needle, knil inloIhe slipknol (I) and place Ihe new si Iwisled onlo Ihe leftneedle (2)-2 sts on left needle.

Repeat from " , always knitting into the last st made(nol Ihe slipknol).

.t1 inch ~ 2.5 cm

1 foot ~ 30.5 cm

1 yard ~ 0.9 m

1 ounce ~ 28 9

1 pound ~ 454 9

1 2

ApproximateMetric Equivalents

for EnglishMeasures

Darning: To fix holes in knitted fabric,ravel the stitches around the hole untilyou have a square or a rectangle. Pickup the stitches plus one stitch oneither side (to anchor your work) on adarning needle threaded with matchingyarn. Loosely lace the stitches acrossthe gap-leave enough space to accorn­modate the number of rows on eitherside of Ihe hole. Then slarl al Ihelower right corner of the hole andmake loops around pairs of the lacestitches to mimic the knitted stitches.When you gel 10 Ihe left side, move upa row and work back. Continue thisway until the missing rows of stitcheshave been replaced.

beg-begin(ning)

BO-bind off

CO-caslon

dec-decrease(s)

k-knil

k210g-knil 2 logelher

inc-increase(s)

MI-make 1 by picking uploop between 2 sts, placeon left needle and knilinlo back of loop

p-purl

p210g-purl 2 logelher

psso-pass si st over

rep-repeat

rnd(s)-round(s)

RS-righl side

si-slip

ssk-slip 1 knitwise (Iwice),place on left needle andknil logelher Ihroughback loops

sl(s)-slilch(es)

Ibl-Ihrough Ihe back loop

WS-wrong side

yo-yarnover

Knitting Abbreviations

Some Approximations for Plain YarnsThese numbers are compiled from a variety of sources, from experience, and from patterns,

none of which precisely agree! Use them as rough eslimates only.

Lace 2,600+ IS+ S+

Fingering 1,900- 2,400 16 7-S

Sport 1,200- I ,SOO 14 5Yt-6Yz

Worsled 900-1,200 12 5Yt-S%

Bulky 600-S00 10 3-3%

Very bulky 400-500 S or fewer 1Yz-3}~

Vam Style Vards/pound Approximatewraps/inch

Typical gaugestitches/inch

Approximateneedle size

U.S./ melric

00-2 / 1.75- 2.75 mm

2-4 /2 .75-3.5 mm

4-6 /3.5-4 mm

7-9 /4 .5-5.5 mm

10-11 / 6- S mm

13- 15 /9-10 mm

96 I S PI N . 0 F F I w w W . I N T E R W E !\ \' E . C 0 M

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We are a full -service mill offering washing , open ing, carding,pin drafting and machine spinning .

We offer processing for , and blends of:wool, alpaca , llama, mohair, silk, cotton, bunny, and dog hair.

End products are roving, batts, webs, and yarn.

we will return, at your expense,flher not suitable for processing into roving or yarn.

Our 2006 shows are:MO Fiber Retreat - Jefferson City

Fleece Fair - Greencastle, IN

MD Sheep & Wool - West Friendship

Heart of America - Sedalia, MO

Ml Fiber Festival - AlIegan

SAFF - Asheville, Ne

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S P R I N C 2 0 0 6 I S P I N . 0 F F I 97

Spinner'sBY PEGGY COFFEY

Connection

The llama pictured here is one of 15,000 animalsthat were registered for various exhibits and compe­tilions al the 100th National Western Stock Show,Denver's largest festival, held January 7- 22, 2006.This year's show set record attendance of 726,972and included both a sheepshearing contest andjudging of wool for handspinning. For more infor­mation, visit www.nationalwestern.com. Please keepsending us photos or hiqh-quality digital images ofyour fiber-bearing animals to Spinner's Connection,201 E. Fourth St., Loveland, CO 80537, or e-mailus at spinoff@interweave.com. Make sure to senda copy (not the original) as we will keep all thephotos for possible use in a future issue.

ur spinning groups are impor­tant in cou ntless ways. Meet­ings give us exposure to the

accumu lated knowledge of all thosepresent. Members are on hand to solveproblems, encourage growth , witnesst riumphs, and inspire new goals. Agroup can widen our interests andopportu nities much more readily thansolo attempts made outside of it. Thesebenefits exist becau se membersconsciously take an active part inproviding for the good of the whole.

A small piece of pr inted glasshanging in my kitchen window quotesMaya Ange lou, "When you get, give;when you learn, teach." How especial­ly appropriate to handspinners! Hereare several stories about making thiscontribut ion.

Tami Cole of the Las Aranas Spin­ners & Weavers Guild (New Mexico)learned to spin by si tting each eveningnext to a woman volunteering her timeat a small agricultural fair in New Jersey.Tami joined her current guild afterwatching member Ruth Ronan workingat a loom in a sheep-to-shawl booth.Ruth, who obviously enjoyed de monstrat ing, gave passionateanswers to Tami's questions and urged Tami to join the group.As time went on Tarni's excuses for declining meetings or for notvolunteering for events gave way to parti cipating. Tami eventu­ally signed up for the required shifts at a guild booth in exchangefor the opportunity to sell items from her farm. "Full blown anx­iety prevailed!" she says, "as all of my experience [in spinningand dyeing] was in the privacy of my own home." Though shewas clearly out of her comfort zone, members stepped in to guideher and make her performance a success. Her perspectivecompletely changed after her experience of helpi ng and be inghelped . She rearranged her schedule to ensure she would notmiss another guild meeting. In fact, when her sister and her fam­ily visited from Oregon, Tami sent them to a pizza parlor with afrie nd to ensure that she was free to attend the guild's meeting.

Diana Twiss of the Langley Weavers & Spinners Guild(British Columbia, Canada) was asked to serve as guild president

last year. Ai, she thought about it, whatcame to mind were not "visions ofleadership and holding the reins ofpower (a good thing or I would havebeen a bit disappointed), bu t thesimple fact that it was my turn." Con-

" trary to her expectations, she found it~ a pleasure to organize the meetings,o: help process newsletter issues, and::; represent the guild in the larger<

~ community. With over one hundred~ members, the group has a number of<~ tale nte d artisans, and "just about;: anything you want or need to learno

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ... ~ about fiber arts can be learned fro m afe llow member." At her last executivemeeting, discussions and plans for thecoming year were forming and Dianafe lt a st rong cohesion among themembers. A shift from serving theirown needs to first addressing thelearning needs of new members grew

out of the realization that this was howthey had become artisans themselves.She reported, ".. . people came for­ward . .. who would like to teach theseclasses. These are exci ti ng times, asthe mentored becom e mentors and

the learning goes on [with] our own experts .. . will ing to sharetheir time, energy, and observations of the craft with us."

Teaching what we have learned and givi ng back to otherskeeps groups alive and often is the attraction for nonspinnersto join our guilds. Your newsletters also attest to creating long­last ing friendships that begin with spinning and carry over intoother areas of our lives. These newsletters help keep all of usin touch. Barbara Kramer of the Slalen Island Handspinners(New York) sent me an e-mail afte r she read about KarenAmble's journey to Scotland and subsequent quest to spin in"Spinner's Connection" in the Spring 2005 issue. Barbara said,"I am the spinner Karen got in touch with as I was presidentof the guild. I just resigned after fourteen years. The newpresident is Karen Amble! " To find a group near you, visitwww.interweave.com/spin/resources/spinninUuilds.asp. Someguilds are fo rmal or traditional with elected officers and dues,while others meet at impromptu gatherings as lifestyles allow.

98 I S P IN . 0 F F I w w W . I ~ T E R W E ,\ V E . C 0 1\1

Camel RidesPelting ZooDoor Prizes

Food VendorsFlax to Linen DemoYouth Competition

Kids Fiber Animal camp

eece

of their choice. Th ey meet weekly at a

local bookstore to learn and guide eac h

other until the project is completed. The

Alpine Weavers and Spinners used uptheir thrums to prepare 200 seven-strand

braid kits for a demonstration for second

grade rs at an eleme nta ry sc hool. Th e

Yellowslone Weavers and Sp inners(Wyom ing) install ed a month-long

display at the Cody Library. Items

included a handspun, knitted scarf to be

RAIN OR SHINE

Various Animals will be thereJaryou to enjoyFor more InJo &Jar Participation call

Pal Fender at (812) 829-4501 er email: rpfender@bluemarble,nel

CHECK.Q[Jf OUR WEB SITE at www.fleecefair.corn

s'Jprie 7. 2006 ~ 4:OOpmto 7: 00 pms'Jprie 8, 2006 ~ 9:00 am to5-00 pmfPutnam r5()unty [ff(n"!lrounds - rJreenc(l1Jtfe, Jfndiana

Over 150 BoothsFree Mini-WorkshopsWorkshopsPony RidesFleece CompetitionSkein CompetitionFiber Arts Competition

activities through a state-wide newsletter.

"AThread Runs Through It" is the theme

for their annual confe rence next August,

and class offerings will reflect the number

of fiber and knitt ing groups tha t have

sprung up and en larged their attendance .

Recent newsworthy activities include the

foll owing. In the Billings area, the

Montana Fiber Crafters are engaged in a

Shawl Knit Along. All participants follow

the same free online pattern using yarn

Fleece Fair provides Fiber Fantasy in a rainbow of cotorful tibers

Llama - Alpaca - Silk - Angora - Mohair - Linen - Col/onand various types ofSheep 's Wool in natural & dyed colorslll!

Also: Spinning & Weaving Supplies, Books, HandmadeItems, Sheep & Fiber related Craft Items, Yarn & Knitting Sup­plies, Alpaca Rugs, Homemade Soap, Roving, Blankets, Sheep

Hides, Baskets and sooooo much more!!!!!

ALL DAY WORKSHOPS ON FRIDAY!

Guild News

Happy Anniversary to the Twisl o'Wool

Guild (Vermont) celebrat ing its twenty­

sixth year. The New Year was ushered in

with th e "Best & Worst Show & Tell" and

a potluck on Rock Day. Hand-dyed carded

batts were passed out to members to be

spun, plied, and th en used for an afghan

project to be sold in May at an annual auc­

tion benefiting the local hospice.

Members of the Tucson Handweavers

and Spinners Guild (Arizona) became

te levision sta rs whe n they voluntee red

for a phone pledge drive for a local TV

sta t ion. Members of the gu ild we re

invited to bring their projects and were

featured live during most of the pledge

breaks. This opportu n ity to talk abou t

the group and inform the viewing public

of th eir presence in town was so muchfun that m emb ers have al ready vo lun­

teered for the next drive.

Enthusiasm for Mother Earth and

literature about the great outdoors forms

the latest design challe nge for the

Peachlree Handspinners Guild (Geo r­

gia). "Fashion Flora and Fauna" calls for

proj ects using fiber to depict a nature

theme. Any medium is acceptable, but

no com mercial patterns may be used .

Each year's project results are exh ibited

at the Dekalb Main Library in Decatur,

and items made wit h woo l are later

displayed at the Georgia National Fair.

Montana has an association of weav­ing and spinn ing groups who share their

The news for this column comesfrom you, the readers, and [ love to hear

from you. Mail newsletters to me at the

address below. To read more news than

can be printed here, send a self-addressed

legal-size enve lope with postage for two

ounces to Peggy Coffey, 7297 N. Range

Road, LaPorle, IN 46350. Seve ral peo­

ple taking trips have requested news

from groups in the areas they will visit,

and I am happy to send you what is avail­

able. There is fun and adventure wait ing

for you when you are connected.

SPRINC 2006 1 S PIN · o F FI 9 9

to the human eye than one that is not.Suggestions for practical uses of theseconcepts included determining the widthof an afghan, developing a sequence ofst ripes, and calculating the number ofballs of yarn needed for a multicoloredbut randomly pattern ed piece.

Examples of traditional fiber arts skillswere provided in the Country Store at the

Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Fest ivalby the ~Iarshall Pleasant Spinners.

z They gave ongoing demonstrations~ of handcarding, combing, spinning,-~ knitting, and weaving and encour-~ aged bystanders to ask questions.cS The guild started meet ing in 1979,;: as an informal organization.

The Foothill Fibers Guild (Cal­ifornia) newsletter featured tips onCrock-Pot dyeing from memberBeryl Moody. After reading anarticle about dyeing in Spin -Off

years ago, she says, "I haven'tlooked back once since I first tri ed

ton) newsletter lately. Three mathemat­ical concepts to help in designingpatterns and projects were explained inone issue fo llowed by examples of howto use them in the months following.Examples of Fibonacci Numbers, LucasNumbers, and the Golden Ratio arecommo n in nature. A proportion basedon one of them appears more attractive

Fiber for a "blanket of hope" was spun by twenty-seven spin­ners and woven by six weavers of the Central Ohio WeaversGuild to present to member Cheryl Koncsol who was diag­nosed with cancer. Cheryl is now on the road to recovery andher prognosis is good. Pictured from left to right are: LoisEreira, Sue Riley·Brown, Pat Bullen, Nancy Goldschmidt, PatRadloff, Iris Meier, Sue Briney, Kathleen Craig, Dee DeePtaszek, and Cheryl Koncsol.

raffled to benefi t the library. In Augustthe group demonstrated for the "Eliza­beth I, Ruler and Legend" museum dis­play sponsored by the Powell Library.

The editor for the Spindle and DyepotGuild (Wisconsin) will wash the car ofany member sending in an article for thenewsletter. Unab le to write one? ParnJablonsky says, "Telephone and talk it tome." This group bustles withactivi ty whenever they meet. Forexample, a show-and-tell includedthe results of using icing dyes in aCrock-Pot, preparing fiber using adog com b with rota t ing teeth ,dyeing with avocado pits and peels,and t rying three braiding tech­niques: kumihimo, lucetting, andcord twisting. Short how-to articleson each technique we re in sub­sequent newsletters for those un­able to attend.

Math has been a part of theValley Spinners' Guild (Washing-

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The Woolgathers of the Comox Valley (Canada) wereinvited to demonstrate spinning and weaving and sell theirhandspun and handwoven items at the Filberg Festival onVancouver Island. Pictured here, Judy Maclean demonstratesa great wheel at the festival.

slow cooking my yarn instead of mydinner. " She makes up dye stocksusing a cup of hot wat er and ateaspoon of dye with no intent onproducing a given calor. However,

she is careful about keeping her pHbetween 4.5 and 5.0 so that the dyeis absorbed qu ickly. After th e fi rstcolor is absorbed by the yarn anddisappears from the water, she poursa different color over the yarnwithout stirring it for unique results.Beryl has found that natural and aciddyes work equally well with thismethod, and she achieves minimalbleeding when th e yarn is rinsed.

A field trip to the Peabody Museum ofArchaeology and Ethnology at HarvardUniversity was sparked by a workshop ongauze for th e Weavers' Guild of Boston(Massachusetts ). Several categories ofPeruvian gauze were selected fo r thegro up to view, including plain weave

woven of balanced yarns, monochromat ic

gauze woven with crepe or overspun yarn,gauze in which color, as well as pattern,was an element, and gauze serving as abase fo r other techniques and embellish­ments. The curator and database admin­istrator wore gloves and manipulatedfabrics so the members could see th efragile fabri cs without touching them .The range of techniques, the fi neness of

the spinning, and th e skill of th e~ weaving impressed the members"~ enough to plan another visit.

•. ~ What do you do with samples of

~~ ~ fleeces and yarn? Gage Evans of theE ~ Rocky Mountain Weavers Guild

<" (Colorado) could not throw out any-" amount of fiber, and began sortingoS them into similar colorways, Using"c, handcards, she "folded" the bits into

a white fl eece, lett ing it act as abackground and extender. The col­ors became the focus of the yarnshe created as a spinning samplefor the group's newsletter. The guild

recently took part in the 100th anni­versary of the National Western StockShow in Denver. Twenty-seven members

donated over 200 hours total demon­st rating weaving and spinning forattende es including 20,000 ch ildrenparticipating in the school tour program.

. , .'. . .-. -,_.' .'

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S P R I N G 2 0 0 6 I S PIN · 0 F F I 101

Conference of Northern CaliforniaHondwecvers

PRES E N TS

= C2

May 5 - 7, 2006Modesto Centre plaza

1000 LStreet, Modesto, CAFri . It S ;al. 1I) :OO -O :uo . SUD . 10:0"-4 :00

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Santa Monica Chi C" Auditorium1855 Main Street, Santa M QRlca, CA 9(1401-32 09

Marketplace, Semina rs, Fashion Show,Ga lleries, Demonstrations, & MORE!

For more Information, visit us onl ine:

www.cnch.org

The Black Sheep Gathering, Inc.86460 Lorane Hwy, Eugene, Oregon 97405 • 541-484-1011www.blacksheepgathering.orgleslie@fishwhistle.com

Sheep and Angora Goat Shows' Fiber Arts Show

Angora Rabbit Exhibit· Wool Show and Sale

Workshops' Sheep-to-Shawl . Raffle

Trade Show' Spinner's Lead· Educational Talks

Demonstrations' Saturday Night Potluck Dinner

June 23, 24 and 25, 2006

Lane County FairgroundsEugene, Oregon

The Black SheepGathering

Celebrating natural colored animalsand their fibers

BLACK SHEEPGATHERING

102 I S PI N · 0 F F I w w W . I N T E R W E A V E . C 0 />l

CalendarTO ENTER

CALIFORNIA.'tooterey County Fair Wool Show. open, August

15-20. in Nonterey, seeks handcraft and fleeceent ries. Entry deadline June 29. (831) 372­5863; www.montereycountytair.corn.

CONNECTICUTFleece to Shawl contest. open. April 29. at the Con­

necticut Sheep, Wool. and Fiber Festival, at 101­land Agricultural Center. (860) 684-2124;\\'ww.CTSHEEP.org.

FLORIDAFlorida Tropical Wea\'ers ' Guild seeks teacher and

ven dor applications for the 2008 conference.Jacki Malone. 3 13 Bay St. , Tarpon Springs, FL34689. jcmftwg@tampabay.rr.com.

MICHIGANSpin a Grand Strand. open, juried skein exhibit in

Grand Rapids in conjunction with Convergence2006 in June. Entry postmark deadline May15. Spin a Grand Strand, Handweavers GuildofAmerica. 1255 Buford Hwy, Ste. 211, Suwa ­nee, CA30024. (678) 730-0010; hga@weavespindye.erg.

NEBRASKA~li dwest Weave rs Confere nce 2007, seeks pro­

posals for workshops and seminars June 17- 23,2007. in Lincoln. Kitt Hamersky, 543 1 Hamil­ton St., Omaha, NE 68132. treadler@cox.net.

NEW JERSEYPeters Valley Craft Fair, September 29-0ctober 1,

in Augusta. welcomes applications from artistsselling handcrafted items. Application deadline~Iay 3 1. Nancy Nolte. Peters Valley Craft Cen­ter. 19 Kuhn Rd.. Layton. NJ 07851. (973) 948­5200; fax (973) 948-00 11; pV@Warwick.net;WW\\'.petersvalley.org.

NORTH CAROLINABlue Ridge Handweavin g Show, biennial interna­

tional non-juried exhibit of handwovens. Oc­tober. in Asheville. Entry forms and fees dead­line August 3 1. Sue Reynolds. Registrar, BlueRidge Handweaving Show. PO Box 18602.Ashevill e, NC 28814. ....:ncfhg@main.nc.us;wncfhge'main.nc.us.

OHIOBlack Swamp Spinners' Guild ' ta rket Day, April

1, in Bowling Green, we lcomes vendors. Edie,(517) 486-5898; candles@tc3net.com.

Lake Metroparks' Fiberfest, June 17-18 seeks fi ber­related vendors for the festival, in Kirtland. An­drea Pasquale. (800) 366-3276; apasquale@lakemetroparks.com.

PENNSYLVANIAFiherart International. open, ju ried exhibit April

la- August 19,2007. in Pittsbu rgh. Slide dead­lin e August 18 . Send SASE to Mary Towner,103 Narble Dr.• Nc~lurray. PA 1531 7. (412)521·2547; fiberartinternat ional@Yahoo.com:wwwfiberartinternational.org.

fESTIVALS ,1 _'0GATHERINGS

CALIFORNIAJuly 29. Lambtown. fiber festival. in Dixon. Will

include First Annual National Spinning Com­petit ion . Dana Foss, PO Box 492. Dixon . CA95620. (707) 678-7386; dcarpio@lambtown.com; www.lambtown.corn.

August 18-20. Fabulous Fiber Fest 2006 , SantaMonica Civic Auditorium. ~lK Concepts. LLC.•3767 Overland Ave., Ste. 102. Los Angeles, CA90034. (310 ) 845-9 111; fax (3 10) 845-9 199;www.thefiberfest.com.

Enjoy scenic Camp Myrllewood in springwhile at Ihe Fiber in the Forest retreat,Euqene, Oregon.

COLORADO,'Ilay 25- 2 8. Pagosa Fiber Festival, at Archuleta

County Fairgrounds. RI. 84 south of Rt. 160,Pagosa Springs. (970) 264-5232; Pauline@pagosa fiberfes t ivaI.corn; w....'W. pagosaflbe rfestival.corn.

June 15-1 8. Estes Park Wool Market and FiberAnimal Show. in Estes Park. Estes Park WoolMarket. PO Box 1967. Estes Park. CO 80517.(970) 586-6104; lax (970) 586-3661; events@estes.org.

CONNECTICUTApril 29. Connecticut Sheep. Wool. and Fiber Fes­

t ival, at Tolland Agricultural Center, Rt. 30 off1-84. Exit 67. (860) 6&\-2124; www.CTSHEEP.crg.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIAJune 4-5. Celebration of Textiles, at The Textile Mu­

seum, 2320 S St. NW, Washingto n, DC 20008.(202) 667-044 1; fax (202 ) 483-0994 ; info@textilemuseum.org: www.textilemuseum.org.

IUINOIS.'larc h 10-13 . 4th Annual Bloomie Fest for spin­

ners. kn itte rs. and weavers . in Bloomington.(80S) 529·1816: d2wms@'yahoo.com.

April 22. 10th Annual Stephenson County PiberArt Fair. at Jane Addams Center, 430 W. Wash­ington St., Cedarville. Suzy Beggin. PO Box 54,Stockton. IL 6 1085 . (8 15) 947-2872; Suzy@Suzylleggin.com: www.SuzyBeggin.comIFAF.htm; Nancy Jones. (815) 563-4911.

INDIANAJune 3. Hossier Hills Fiberarts Fest ival. at John­

so n County Fairgrounds, Franklin. Toni \\'al­ter, (3 17) 535-0833: hhff@'wilwa.net: www.hhfi berfest.com.

KANSASApril 21-23. Cen tra l Plain s Piber Festival and

Kansas Alliance of Weavers and Spin ners An­nual Meeting. at Phillips County Fairground s,Phillipsburg. Sally Brandon. 356 E. Hunter Rd.,Phill ipsburg. KS 6766 1. (785) 638- 2803; WW\V

.centraIplainsfiberfest.co m.

MAINEJunelO--l1. Annual Piber Frolic, at Windsor Fair­

grounds. www.fiberfro lic.com.

MARYLANDApril 9 . ABC Show, alpaca fleece show and sale, at

Howard County Fairgroun ds, West Friendsh ip.Ka te Perez, (30 1) 60 7-9 129; www.AlpacaHeritage.corn.

MASSACHUSETTS,'Itay 27-28. 32nd Annual Massachusetts Sheep and

Woolcraft Fair. at the Cummington Fair­grounds. www.masheepwool.org.

MINNESOTA.'Itay 13-14. Minnesota Shepherd's Harvest Sheep

& Wool Festival. at Washington County Fair­grou nds. Lake Elmo. www.shepherdsharvestfestival .erg.

MISSOURI~Iay 20. Fiber Fair. at Webster County Fairgrounds,

Marsbfield. Helen Grace Muzzy. (417) 859-7840.

NEW HAMPSHIRE,'Il ay 13-14. 30th Annual New Hampshire Sheep

& Wool Festival. at Hopkinton State Fair­grou nds. Contoocook. Lenore Sousa . lenorecun@aol.com; Jeff Jordan. (603) 798-5074: Na­dine Chounet, (603) 744 -3851 ; tinyfarm@metrocas t.net: www.yankeeshepherd.com.

NEW YORKJune 17-18 . 5th Annual Jefferson County Sheep

& Wool Festival, at Sto ne Mills AgriculturalMuseum. Rt. 180. Laf'a rgeville. Janet Schrad­er, (315) 232·3786: Tom Mitchell , Tomitch@verizon.net.

-s-continued on page 105

S P R I N G 2 u () ti I s PI N · 0 ,. F I 103

Carded woolin 5 natural and19 dyed colors.

Custom cardingand spinning

available.

Send $2.50 for sample cards.Dealers inquiries invited.

www.wildeyarns.com

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THE FOLD3316 MlIstream FkI.flael9J, IL60152815-568-5320FAX: 815-568-5342E!lTIlIiI: thefoId@rrc.net

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Come see us at the 2006 shows!April 7/8 - Fleece Fair ­

Greencastle, INMay 6/7 - Maryland S&W

Aug J 0-13 - Stitches MidwestAug 19120 - Michigan FF

Oct 21122 - NY State S&WF

104 I S PI N · 0 F F I w w W . I N T E R W E A V E . C 0 />l

more Calendar.(cont inued from page 103)

• •

OHIOApri l 1. Black Swamp Spinners' Guild of NW Ohio

annual Market Day and Piber Fair, at WoodCounty Fairgrounds, Junior Fair Bldg., 13800W. Poe Rd., Bowling Green. Susan Cayton,(419) 874-5633; caytonsj@juno.com; www.geocities.comJblackswampspinnersguildJhome.html.

j\1ay 27-28. Great Lakes Fiber Show, at WayneCounty Fairgrounds, 199 Vanover St. Woost­er. Linda Reichert , (330) 264-9665; don47linda@va lkyrie.net ; www. lambzown.c om/GreatLakesFiberShow.htm.

June 17- 18. Lake Metroparks' Piberfest, in Kirt­land. Andrea Pasquale, (800) 366-3276;apasqualecclakeme troparks.com.

OREGONj\larc h 25 . High Desert Wool Growers ' Fiber Mar­

ket Day, at Crook County Fairgrounds, Prine­ville. Robina Koenig, tumblecreekfarm@juno.com.

.May 19- 22. Piber in the Forest , at Camp Myrtl e­wood, off Hwy. 42, 40 miles west of 1-5. Fiberin the Forest , 249 Coachman Dr., Eugene, OR97405. Suzie Liles , (541) 684-5900; www.weaverscabin.com.

VIRGINIAOctober 7, 8 . The Fall Fiber Fest iva l of Virginia

Montpelier Estate, Orange County, Vi rg inia.David Singleton , (434 ) 990-9068; dr s3y@virginia.edu: WW\.....fallfiberfestival. erg.

WASHINGTONApril 1- 2. 35 th Annua l Whidbey Weavers' Guild

Spin-In, at Oak Harbor High School , Oak Har­bor. Patricia Oetken , (360) 678-0930; whidbeyspinin@whidbey.net.

April 20- 23. 27th Annua l She phe rds' Ext rava­ganza. at the fairgrounds in Puyallup. Lin, (425)432-3455; lin@shepherds-extravaganza.com;\....\»w.shepherds-extravaga nza.corn.

AUSTRALIAJune 30-July 3. Alice Springs Beanie Festival. Alice

Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. wwwbeaniefest.org.

CANAOA. BRITISH COLUMBIAMarch 3 1- April l. Fibrefest International 2006, at

Tradex, Abbotsford. Marilyn Ross, (604) 856­0771; www.fibrefestintem ational.corn.

July 18- 22 or 25-29, 2007. Prince Edward IslandTapestry Retreat. Weave a small tapestry withna turally dyed yarns. Accommodat ions avail­able. All levels welcome. (520) 792-6665; W\OIlW

.weaveanisland.com.

UNITEO KINGOOMApril 29- 30. New Forest Need lework Fiesta, at

Brockenhurst Village Hall. Fiesta, do 38 Southsi.. Penni ngton. Lymington S0 41 8DX, En­gland. (01590) 673334.

CONFERENCES

ARIZONAj\larch 16--19. Fibers Through Time 2006, confer­

ence of the Arizona Federation of Weavers andSp inners Guilds, at Cen tral Arizona College,Coolidge. Anita Bellinger, 2032 E. Tonopah Dr.,Phoenix, AZ 85024. (602) 485-9757; abellinger@cox.net ; www.azfed.org.

FLORIDAj\larch 16--19. Florida Tropical Weavers Guild Con­

ference. Penny Morgan, (561) 272-1000; SandyCarr, tum .weavecpver izon.net ; www.ftwg.org.

MICHIGANJune 25-J uly 1. Convergence 2006, Handweavers

Guild of Ame rica biennial confe re nce , at De

- continued on page 107

Meeting Your Fiber Needs for Two Decades

We are one of the largest Custom ProcessingFiber Mills in North America and we

encourage you to visit.Overnight accommodations available.

Pencil RovingComforter BattsPin Drafted Roving

YamFelting BattsQuilt Batts

Prices based on FINISHED weight

We also carry animal products, books, fibers forblending, spinning wheels and spinning supplies.

Along with producing lofty roving from wool, al­paca, llama, angora, buffalo, yak,

cashmere and mohair....we can process:

Call to discuss the best ProcessingMethod for your individual needs.

Ohio Valley Natural FibersKent & Ginny Ferguson

Julie Basham854 1 Louderback Rd.Sardinia, OH 451 71

(937) 446-3045~ Write, e-rnail or call for FRE E brochure.t..: NEW E-mail: info@ovnf.com~ Website: www.ovnf.com~ Check Website for Show Schedules,~ fuJecials and Gift Certificate

~~

S P R I N G 2 0 0 6 I S PI N · 0 F F I 105

TEASINGIBLENDING--$2.00/#

CARDING--batts or roving-­

$5.60/#

SPINNING--

9190 5 . Cent ennia l Lane

Canby, OR 9701:350:3-26:3-4902

www.farrta eyfibere .comffibers @web-ster.com

WASHING--$3,OOI# incoming weight

DEHAIRING--priced according to fibert ype and charged on inco ming weight

Worsted wgt. 500-100Oyds/#--$23.5 01#

Sport wgt. 1000 -1500yds/#--$26 ,OOI#

Lace wgt.1500 -20 00/yds /#--$28.0 01#

~altbtSU' Jlftb~.r

CUSTOM CARDING

DEHAIRING & SPINNING

Felting Needles & Supplies

BlueGooseGlen@att.net

Living Felt Neecllefelting Kits& Patterns

whelesele Il"lquirieJi WekOrTle4

Wool & Exotic Hbersand Yam

1-877-665-5790

Spinning & WeevingSupplies and Equipment

Blue Goose Glenwww.hluegooseglen.com

'1laynes" Colonial Spinning Wheel(Established 1974)

• Long life bearings ·Patented quick-change Flyer• Built-in Lazy Kate • Very easily assembled• Unfinished or Polished • Single or double Treadle• Handcrafted by "Skilled Craftsmen for Crafts People"

world widePartly assembled kit insured, post free.For full price list and brochure of Wheels and Accessories,please write, fax, or email to ­BAYNES SPINNING WHEELS20 Gordons Road, P.O. Box 218, Ashburlon, New Zealand.Fax +64 3 308-6884, Email: baynes @ashburlon.co.nzWebsite: www.spinning.co.nz

June 15-Sign up now for shows,workshops, contests.••WorkshopsJ June 15-16Weavlfi~ & spinmngDyeing,," FellingKnitt ing & Crocheting

Contests, June 17-18Fleece Sheep 10 ShawlHandsp nn SkeinsShows, Exhibits, June 18-19Llamas AlpacasGoats & Sheep

Commercial and EducationalBooths and DisplaysCall or e-mail (or information970-S86-6J04, EClents@esles,Qrg,Fax: 9'10-586-3661www.estesparkcvb.com

E STE S P ARKCOL O R A D O

P.O.Box 1967 Estes Park, CO 80517

SPINDLES & SKEINS

Weaving· Basketry· SpinningKnitting· Classes· Equipment

635 S. Broadway, Unit EBoulder, Colorado 80305(in the Table Mesa Center)

(303) 494-1071· (800) 283-4163

Visit our web site:www.shuttlesspindlesandskeins.com

Mon 12-6 pm • Tues-Sall 0-6 pm

Closed Sundays

106 I S P I N · 0 F F I w w W . I N T E R W E A V E . C 0 />l

more Calendar.(continued from page 105)

• •

Vas Place Convention Cente r, Grand Rapids.(678) 730-0010; fax (678) 730-08 36 ; hga

convergencecoweavespindye.org: www.weavespindye.org.

WASHINGTONJune 1- 4. Northwest Regional Spinners' Associa ­

t ion Conference , at the Univers ity of PugetSound, Tacoma. www.nwrsa.org.

AUSTRALIAAugust 13-14. Selling Yarns: Australian Indige­

nous Textiles and Good Busine ss in the 2 1st

Century, conference, at The Museum and ArtGallery of the Northern Territory, The Theat r­ette, Darwin, NT. nihca@anu.edu.au.

CANAOAJune 2-7. Warp ed and Twisted-a-Creative Colou r

Connect ions. Conference of the Handweavers.Spinners and Dyers of Alberta Provincia l Guild,

at High River, Alberta , 30 minutes south of Cal­gary. nswgta'shaw.ca; wwvv.hwsda.org.

GERMANY

October 5-8. Spintreffen conference, in Wupper­tal. www.spinntreffen.org.

E XH IBI T S , S HO WS ,AND SA LES

COLORAOOThrough April 15 (Closed for spring break, March

16--27). Material Witness, featuring the flbersprogram, at Colorado State University. ColoradoCollege Coburn Art Gallery, Worner CampusCenter, 902 N. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs,CO 80903. (7191389-6797.

OISTRICT OF COLUMBIAThrough July 30. Seldom Seen: Director's Choice

from the Museum's Collections. March 17-Sep­tember 3. Harpies, Mermaids, and Tulips: Em­broidery of the Greek Islands and Epirus Re­gion. Exhibits at The Textile Museum, 2320 SSt. NW, Washington, DC 20008.(202) 667-0441;fax (202) 483-0994 ; info@textilemuseum.org;www.textilemuseum.org.

MASSACHUSETTS.t\larch 21 -l\"lay 6. Folks in Fiber, invitational ex­

hib itio n, at Cahoon Museum of American Art,4676 Falmouth Rd., PO Box 1853, Cotuit , MA02635 . (508) 428-7581; fax (508) 420-3709;

www.cahoonmuseum.o rg.

MICHIGANJune 23-July 21. Highlights of the Fiber Depart­

ment, exhibit from Wayne State University, atCommunity Arts Gallery, 150 Communi ty ArtsBldg., Detroit.

OHIOJune l f -July 28. Focus Fiber: 2006 , regional ju­

ried exhibit, in Cleveland, at The Textile Art Al­liance of Cleveland Museum ofArt. Send SASEto Christine Maurersberger, 1286 W. 112th St.,Cleveland, OH 44102; focusfi ber@yahoo.com.

OREGONMay 5-7. Handwovens Plus, Portland Handweavers

Guild Annual Sale, at the Oregon ConventionCenter, 777 NE Martin Luther King Blvd., Port­lan d. Margaret Zeps, (503) 638-5430; zepsm@

hevanet.com: Laurie Brown, (503) 635-6520;RavelloLMB@aol.com.

PENNSYLVANIAMay 27-August 26. Exhibit of nineteen th-centu­

ry caps, clothing, and household textiles, at theHome Textile Tool Museum on SR 1036 , Or­well. Home Textile Tool Museum, PO Box 153,Rome, PA 18837. in forcehttm.org. v..........w.home

textiletoolmuseum.org.- continued on page 108

o.

1130 WEISS ST_, FRANKENMUTH, MI 48734 • KATE & GARY ZEILINGER

(877) 767-2920 • (989) 652-2920· Fax (989) 652-2940

Website: www.zwooI.com • Evmail: zwool@aoI.com

Early Spring Processing Special20% discount on prepay roving and batting orders from

March I-April 15

Discount good with check or money orders only.

Visit our website for all pricing!

WE PROCESS AND SELL THE FOLLOWING ITEMS:

Ravings Dehair Llama QuiitsCombed Top and Cashmere ComfortersBattings Yarn Mattress PadsPencii Ravings Socks Pillows

Visit our websitewww.zwool.com

for the spring shows thatwe will be attending

S P R I N G 2 0 0 6 I S P I N· 0 F F I 107

more Calendar.(cont inued from page 107)

• •

TEXASApril 22-23. Fiesta Arts Fair, at the Southwest

School of Art & Craft, San Antonio. BarbaraHill, (210) 224-1848; bhilleoswschool.org.

CANADAMay 4- 3 1. Natural Textiles of Akih iko Izukura, at

the Silk Weaving Studio, # 15-155 1 Joh nstonSt., Granville Island, Vanco uver, Bri t ish Co­lumbia. (604) 687-7455; silkeos ilkweavingstudio.corn; '....ww.silkweavingstudio .com.

INST RUCT ION

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIAGeorge Hewitt l\"lyers: An American Original, June

8, lec ture by Daniel Walke r. Oriental Rugs ,June 15, lecture by Daniel Walker. SoutheastAsian Textiles , June 22, lecture by MattiebelleCittinger, Western Hemisphere Textiles, June29, lecture by Ann Pollard Rowe. Islamic Tex­tiles, July 8, lecture by Sumru Belger Krody.Lunchtime Textile Talks. at The Textile Muse­um , 2320 S St. NW, Washi ngto n, DC 20008.(202) 667-044 1; fax (202) 483-0994 ; info@textilemuseum.org: www.textilemuse um.org.

MAINEKnitter's Retreat/Workshop, August 7-13, at Medo­

mak Camp and Retrea t Center, Washington.(866) 633-6625; \....ww.medomakcamp.com.

Dyeing as if the Earth Mattered, August 25-27,

Workshop with Michele Wipplinger, at HopeSpinnery, 725 Camde n Rd., Hope, ME 04847 .(207) 763-4600; www.hopespinnerycom; Earth­ues, (206) 789-1065; \....ww.eatthues.com.

NEW HAMPSHIREEver So Lightly Felted Vest, July 13- 14. Strip Felt

Vest, July 15- 16. Workshops with Polly Stir­

ling , at The Fiber Stud io, 9 Foster Hill Rd.,Hennike r, NH 03242. (603) 428-7830; www

.fiberstudio.com.

NEW MEXICOTwill Saddle Blanket Weave, April 3- 7, with Liesel

Orend. Intr o to Rio Gra nde Weaving, April17- 20, with Karen Mart inez. Upholstery Weav­ing Chimayo Style, May 1-4, with Karen Mar­

ti nea. Shadow Weave Chenille Scarves, May1- 5, with Liesel Orend. Rag Rug Weaving, May

15- 18, with Karen Martinez. Navajo Weaving,May 22-25. Natural Vegetal Dyes, July 14- 16,

with Liesel Orend . In tens ive workshops, at

Nor thern New Mexico Community College,El Rito . Karen Martin ea, (505) 58 1-41 13;kmartinez@nnmcc.edu; ww\.....fiberartsprogram

.squarespace.com.

NORTH CAROLINASpinning: Magic with Dyeing and Plying, April

2- 7, with Patsy Zawistoski. Spinning and Dye­ing: From Garden to Yarn , April 9- 15, wit hCarla Owen. Additiona l fiber- re lated classesthroughout the year. John C. Campbe ll FolkSc hool, 1 Folk School Rd., Brasstown, NC28902. (800) 365-5724; www. folkschool.org.

OkLAHOMAMaster Spinners Program, Level 1, April 24-28.

Levels 1 and 2. October 16- 20. In Davis, pre ­sented by Olds College ofAlberta, Canada. (800)661-6537; Sherry, sherry.healey@doc.state.ok.us; ww,.....oldscollege.ab.ca.

OREGONlkat Weavingflndigo Dyeing, with Marilyn Roberts.

Tints, Tones and Shades, with Janis Thomp­son. Block Weaves in Rugs, with Jason Colling­wood. Bead Embellishment, with Ann MartaBowker, Workshops May 19- 22 in conj unctionwith Fiber in the Forest retreat , at Camp

spinn ing > coIor rhcorv > tCltingrug hooking > htsro rv > en tertain men t

Watch for the nextVERMONT FIBER RETREAT

in 2007Thank you to our 2005 presenters;

Stephen AblemanJeannine Bakriges

Sharon CostelloAmy Oxford

Patsy Sue Zawistoski

forcomplete details:

(802) 464·3762

108 I S PI N . 0 F F I w w w . [ x T Eo: H W E A V E . C 0 :>1

Myrtlewood, Oregon. Suzie Liles, (541) 684-5900; wwwweaverscabin.com.

PENNSYLYANIAWorkshops, May 25-August 25, in weaving, hand-sewing costumes, basketry,

felt ing, natural dyes, and drafting, at the Home Textile Tool Museum, SR1036, On....ell . HTTM, PO Box 153, Rome, PA 18837. www.hometextiletoolmuse um.erg.

WISCONSINColor Works for You. June 9- 11, with Deb Menz. Crea tive Color with Your

Carder, June 11-1 6, with Deb Menz . Fabulous Felt Hat , June 30- Ju ly 2,wit h Chad Alice Hagen. Explora tions in Resist Dyeing on Hand-PeltedWool. July 2-7, with Chad Alice Hagen. Sievers School of Fiber Arts, POBox 100, Washington Island, WI 54246. (920) 847-2264; fax (920) 847-2676;sievers@itol.com; www.sieversschool.com.

studios. fi ber producing farms, reta il outlets, learning center, galleries, andproc essi ng mills. Maps availab le from Hope Spin ner}" 725 Camden Rd.,Hope, ME 04847; (207) 763-4600; wwwhopespinnery.com.

New Zealand, April. Creative Fibre Festival and tour. Mary Fletcher, PO Box 61228,Denver, CO 80206. Phonelfax (303) 632-9255; ChinaMF@comcast.ne t.

United States , April 25- May 2 and July 9- 16. Navajo rug and basket workshops,to urs of pueblos and trading pos ts. Hor izons, PO Box 634, Levere tt, MA01054; (413) 367-9200; fax (413) 367-9522; horizons@horizons-art.com;wwwhorizons-art.com.

Calendar euents ofspecial interest to spinners are printed free ofcharge as a service toour readers . To maximize the passibility afyaur event s inclusion in the Summer 2006issue, please send intormation by April), 2006. to "SPtA'·OFF Calenda r. "20} E. FourthSt.. Love/and, CO 80.5.17-.56.55. Listings are made on a space-acaiiabte basis. While we in­

clude as many enents as possible. we cannot yuarantee that your listing will be included.

GUATEMALALoom Beading, March 23-April l , with Gayle Liman, in Antigua . Liza Fourre,

Art Workshops in Guatemala, 4758 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55419.(612) 825-0747; fax (612) 825-6637; www.artg uat.org. '~'" SKY ISLAND FLEECE

,..u HOWE, IDAHO 83244

SHAGGYBUCK EXPRESS

~.

JOE BILLMAN-YAKHERD

SHEPHERD CARE LIVESTOCKTRANSPORT

PHONE (208) 767-3475skyisland83244@yahoo.com

RAW AND PROCESSED FIBER

BREEDING STOCKNAVAJO-CHURRO,KARAKUL, and

AMERASIANSHEEP

TRAVEL

China. May. Silk Road and silk production tour. Mary Fletcher, PO Box 61228,Denver, CO 80206. Phone/fax (303) 632-9255; ChinaMF@comcast.net.

Finland and Sweden. June 9- 26. Northern Lights: Textile Arts Tour, sponsoredby The Textile Museu m. (800) 323-7600; tp i@travelplansintl.com.

Guatemala, July 21-30. Textile, weaver 's and craft tour, with Karen Searle. LizaFourre, Art Workshops in Guatema la, 4758 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis,MN 55419. (612) 825-0747; fax (612) 825-6637; fourrecoartguat.org.wwwartguat.org.

.Maine, August 4-6. Maine Fiberarts tour, with self-guided map to locate artists '

R~rnjkr., fa~ ",IJOtnat~ i.farmstian ('f)nrnn:

To find a sto re near you visit

www.fibertren ds.com

Fi be, T ren d • • PO Box 7266E. W.,na,.,h ."C . WA 98802

pho n ,,; 509.884.86 3 1 • "mail; hev~fibert.",nd • .~om

Bryson Distributing @ 1.800.544.8992

or Fiber Trends @ 1.888.733.5991

A lace blanket for a special babyDiamonds for Rhian non

Shipping and handling $5.50 - be sure to mention this ad! · WI residents addstate & countysales tax,' JL add 6.25%.. Ifoutside the US. contact usfor shipp ing & handling rates.

Visit our extensive onllne catalog!

www.mielkesfiberarts.comMielke's Fiber Arts, LLC2550 Co. Rd. H, Rudolph, WI54475-9409 (715) 435-4494

Solid ColoredMerino Top Fiber Sampler

54 colors of roving, includingwhite. Approximately 1/2 oz of

each color. $42.00 #11 9176

Debbie McDermott, Owner2246 Pesek Rd.

East Jordan, MI 49727866-536-2779 toll free

Custom Fiber ProcessingV\l)'1I turn ,rur fibet' into rCNing, balls,

yarn, r"€Elded felt, or socks,

Gall or e-rrail for current prices,

scheduling, ard turnarourd. FREEst'ipping m ,rur yarn order 10 pot.rds

or rmre, incorri ng \/.eight.

rIiIJst receive shiprrent I:>f 5-1 -06.deb@ stonehedge.com

http://www.stonehedgefibermill .com

Stonehedg.e.Fiber Mill LLC

~

S P R I N G 2 0 0 6 I S PIN · 0 F F I 109

Fiber Animals- CompetitionsFree Demonstrations - Vendors

Fiber Art WorkshopsAugust 16 - 20, 2006

at Allegan County FairgroundsAllegan, Michigan

magazine available April 1, 2006contact MFF, PO Box 744

Hastings, MI 49058 • 269-948-2497e-mail: mffestival @yahoo.com

www.michiganfiberfestival.org

MICHIGANFIBERFESTIVAr 'OC

Visit our store or websitewww.stonehillsp in.com

104-A E. Ufer SI.Fredericksb urg, TX 78624Orderline (877) 990-8952

Fax (830) 990-8954

e-mail: stonehill@s tonehiIlspin.com

Ashford & L ouet d eale r

Naturally Texas Fibers and Yarn sCotton • H emp • F lax

M ohai r • Woo l • Lla mu

•STONEHILL SPINNING, LTD_

For all your spinning needs

August19 & 20,

2006

Blackberry RidgeWoolen Mill, Inc.

Custom Spinning is our SpecialtyCelebrating more than 17 years of Service!

Also featuring our ow n yarns and designsin kits and patterns

For a complete listing, visit our web site at:'" www.blackberry-ridge.com

6/;::::: For a free Service Brochure or catalogue~ list ing o ur yarns and newest kits, con tact us at: •

- ~:. 3776 Forshaug Road Mt. Horeb, WI 53572 I """.. '

v:~ (608) 437-3762 11',,'~ Yarn samples $5.00

-:- Full service WOOLMILL and fi ber studio

-:- We process fl eecesinto roving and YARN

-:- No minimumpoundage!

-:- Fleeces do not needto be skirted

www.duckftatsfarUl.coUlDUCK FLATS FARM

PO Box 242, Rnsemnn!, N.J 08556 Phnne (908) 996-4836e-mail duckflats@earthlink.net

~rrirg Wl3eIs ' _ & l.a.aKrittirg Needes' 8arrtlOO

Dyes ' B:xlks ' Videos ' Fts1 CardsQ.JaIiIy Rbers - Rre Wx:J - R3nie

- OJttm - 1'Jp3C3 - Slk - Rax - kglraQ.JaIily Rber Blends- t-krirdSlk

- t-krirdRJsslrn (trcm 1'!eN leelard)- Rre V'J:yjJkglra - Rre WxJI!MJhajr

Yams - 1'bJeIty'Illrns - fv'd1ai r BJude- Ehished fv'd1ai r - t-krirdRJsslrn- Rre Wx:Js

Available at Ire shop­rmil, phone, 01'_

142 EStale St., Hastings M 4mi81-8Xl-948{i689

'MVN.IOOypecI:Ier.rel ·Ia:lyp@iserv.rel

lndigo Hound"Viking Combs-

11\1\,=--- . ., I "\1'," yeI I; I SINCE 1987

• Viking" Wool Combs-Standard, Fine, Double Row

•Doukhobor? Combs• Grea t Wheels• Warp Weighted Looms• English Wool Combs

4-pitch and 5-pitch

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-. (

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Delta PA 173 147 t7 456 7645

I\ll rh.11l

pin~1.ee

Bu tth~rl

( 'm..a

(RotH !:Sh'l •719 .2www.gueefJs [eev e8spinb(es.c omsalesi('gReefJltteeve88pinbtes-com

\ hlI _ .~..... OIrNI" ......" ...loodiool Olr(ri". ....... , _ . Root..,

...Rrnlhl.ll.~l~ ,,"ul iful dropIpi.dln m.clr rmmdl~ Iill<'!ll¥ f\oric h rd .. ....... II . Il.blr.hr "~ .,1.lIfr. fromH, I« la

~\prt1.

110 I S P I N · 0 F F I WWW. I N T E R W E A V E. C 0 />l

•ac I

an ever!•

•e ISer

roeo

The NewCrochet

40 WonderfulWearables

Terry Taylor

Create fabulous clothing and accessories

that wi ll have you seeing crochet in a whole

new light. Transform he-hum wearables

into one-of-a-kind fashion

statements by adding crocheted touches.

Experiment with familiar stitches

and unusual techniques, play with

imaginative edgings

and embellishments. Enjoy

luscious yarns, creative patterns,

gotta-have-it styles.

~ . A Division of.....".:;.0'. BnnKS Sterling Publishing Co., Inc."" \.Jl..J New York

$24.95 (Canada $35.95) • Hardcover t -57990-686-9 • 144 color pages • 8y" x 10 • Available wherever books are sold.

Product NewsBY VICKI VaST

,

and in six bright colorsto help keep you orga ­nized.The containersretail for $6 to $9.Order onli ne at www.knitfoundry.com/products.htm!.

Friendly Prod­ucts Sweater Soapwill leave your hand-spuns clean, restored, and smellingof lavender. Whether you're wash­ing a hearty wool or a fine silk,

Sweater Soap cleans effectively andrinses out easily. A 16-ounce bottle of

the biodeg radable formula retail s for$11.99. Visit www.brysonknits .com tofind a retailer near you.

If you're looking fo r a rinse-free wool­wash that's gentle on fibers an d yourhands, then consider trying Soak fromToronto-based Jacq's Hats. Flora, Aquae,and Citrus scents are available in 425 mlbottles. Can't decide? Purchase a "starter

kit" to try allth ree, each in itsown 130 ml bot­tle. To find a re­tail er near yo u,vis it www.jacqs-hats.com/soak.

to an array of knitting questions. Every­thing from common care label symbolsto a needle inventory list thatyou can fill in withthe contents ofyour collection fitinto this 3-by-5­inch booklet. TheCraft Yarn Council ofAmerica yarn guide­lines and a Kitchenerst itch cheat sheet helpmake this a valuable ad­ditio n to your knittingbag. Ask your local fi bershop if they carry this handy reference.

The Ultimate Storage Containers bythe Knit Found ry are designed to hold a

wide variety of tools suchas doubl e-pointed knit­ting needles, croc hethooks, and much more!The multiple compart -

i:j ments let you keep dif­ferent-size needles an dtools separated, and the

see-through plastic makesit easy to find what you need

quickly. They are durable; the lidwon't come off in your bag, but it is easyto remove when you need so mething.They are available in 8-inch and 6-inchlengths with 4, 6, or no compartments

..,-

.... .: .~.

.c"""""---

Nearly two hours of instruction areincluded on LoriKnits Presents: BeyondPurl. Both verbal and visual instructionsare given with close-up shots of the handsfo r all demonstrations. Whether you' relooking fo r a refresher on cast-ons anddecreases or more advanced cable tech ­niques-with and without a cable nee­dle-this DVD is sure to offe r youuseful t ips and hints. Visitwww.loriknits.com for video clipsor to order the DVD for $24.95.

eKnit-Kards Desktop softwarefrom Nancy's Knit Knacks can cal­culate yardages, gauges, and neces­sary ease as well as track all your fiberessentials with inventory lists. This suiteof mini-applications is full of tutorialsand tools for any fiber art ist. To demo orpurchase, visit www.nancysknitknacks.com.

My Little Knitting Book: A QuickReFerence is Heritage Spinning's answer

DUNCAN FIBER ENTERPRISES21740 S.E. EDWARD DR., CLACKA:\l AS, OR 97015 PH. (503) 658·4066

DICK AND iOANE D UNCAN

MANUFACTURERS OF FINE CARDING MACHINESHAND OPERATED AND MOTORIZED, 8 AND 16 INCH WIDE MODELS

INVENTORS OF THE DUNCAN FINE FIBER BRUSHU.S. PATENT 5,333.357 - CAN. PAT. 2,124,623

BRUSH KITS ARE NOWAVAILABLE FOR THE FOLLOWING CARDERS:ASHFORD· CLEM ES & CLEitJES - A1ADEWELL - ,',tARK FIVE - RAlt" - P~iTRICK (;R EEN

JUDGED BEST BY THE TOUGHEST TEST . . . CUSTOMERSATISFACTIONPLEASE CALL OR WRITE FOR INFORMATION

112 I S P I N . o F F I w w W . I N T E R W E A V E . C 0 />l

Cl a s s i I i e d sNOTICES BOOKS & VIDEO S EMPLOYMENT OPPORT UNITY

TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD, send your adcopy along with payme nt eig ht weeks prior tothe mont h of pu blication (March , Ju ne, Sep­tember, December ). Only $2.50/wo rd ($50 min­imu m) or $100/col. inch (press ready) for clas­sified display ads. Payment must accompany ad.VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discoveraccepted with account n umber an d expiratio ndate. Send to Interweave Press, Spin'Off Clas­sified Ads. 201 East Fou rth St reet, Loveland,CO 80537-5655. Fax (970) 66 7-83 17; VickiY@Interweave.corn.

DVDS AND VIDEOS ON SPINNING, weaving,felt ing, and knitti ng. Go to www.ya rn barn· ks.com or call us at (800) 468-0035. Yam Barnof Kansas, 930 Massachusetts, Lawrence, KS66044.

SPINNING FOR SOFTNESS AND SPEED byPau la Simmo ns. Long out of prin t, now avail­able! $20 including sh ipping. Pat Green Carders,Ltd., 48793 Chilliwack Lake Rd., Chilliwack, BC,Canada V4Z IA6. Call toll-free (877) 898-2273(P'F Zone).

MILL WORKER AT THIRTEEN ~IILE Lamb& Wool Co.: need mechanical apt itude, atten­t ion to deta il, good communication skills. Ex­perience wit h kn itting or handspinning a plus.Call (40 6) 388·4945 o r e-mai l www.lambandwool.com.

, ,,,c, WATER C1<-' ~

,,~ FARM ~('.{

19325 Dairy Rd.Spring Grove, MN

55 974(507) 498-3277

Experience the jo yof raising you r o w n quality fiber.

Fine-fleeced Registered W hite andC olored Angora G o ats and Mohair

rovings for sale . Contact:

Raising registered Shetland

Sheep, Angora rabbits, and

Llamas. Selling fiber as well

as breeding stock, 011 in 0 wide

variety of colors.

55074 I40th Ave., Lucas, lA SO I5 Iwil lowri dgefarm@ iowate lecom.net

by Priscilla A. Gibson-Roberts& Dc borah Robson

SPINNING LLAMA AND ALPACA; new 3rd edi­tion with updates, rewrite for shea ring section ,plus 3 pages about paco-vicufia with sample­$14 plus $2 sh ipping ($16 tota l) or $3.50 shi p­ping to Canada ($17.50 total). Al so availab leProjects for Alpaca and Llam a, $16 (plus $2sh ipping). Chris Switzer, Box 3800, Estes Park,CO 80517.

At your fa vorife y.u n shop or book s toreAsk for Simple Socks. "'din and Fancy. too!

~ www.nomad-pre..s.com

Chilly Toes?Cool Socks Warm FeetA128-pagebookwithgreat sockrecipesand moreby Luey Neatby.At yarn stores or www.tradewindknits.eom

LIQ UIDATION SALE! Organic cotton s liverand blends, 25% off by the pound, volume dis­aunts available. New World Textiles, (828) 669·1870; www.charkha.bia.

NwRSA (NORTHWEST REGIONAL SPINNER'SAssociation ) invites you to become a va luedme mber and a vita l link in a spi nners ' networkof communica tion designed to promote aware­ness of the art and craft of handspinning and togive sp in ne rs t he opportu nity to sha re, learn ,educate , study, compe te , an d cooperate. Yourmembe rs h ip avails you to ten acti on-packednews lette rs a year, local spin-in meetings, an­nual confe rence, library of reference materials,and scho larsh ips available to those who quali ­fy. For mo re in format ion vis it our webs ite atwww.nwrsa .org or send $1.00 in stamps toNwRSA, Dept . SO, 3300 166th Place SW, Lynn­wood, WA 98037. Ecmai l mem bership@nwrsa.o rg.

LADY JOY YARN & FIBRESpinning & Knitting Supplies

Fleeces .:. Fiber .:. Classes

Reg. Jacob

Border Leicester

Reg. Angora Goats

Colored & White

~""-.lwayne & Edle Van Valkenburg- 87 EastJake Rd.

Woodstown, NJ 08098(856) 769·1526

joyew @mindspr lng .comVSFCP.NJ3SBruclTB Free

Hand Looms Supplemen ts

PO Box 422, Andover, MA 01810

(978) 475·8790 ffw@netway.com

www.spwhs1.com

Th e n Spinning Wheel S leuth, A Newsl etter About Spinning Wheels

and Related Tool s$24/4 issues ($28 Canada, $35 Internat ional)

Sample $3.50

Postcards of Rare 5Unusual Spinning Wheels

Black Sheep NewsletterPublished quarterly for growers, spinners

and textile art ists inte res ted in black

sheep, wo o l and other animal fibers.

$ I 4 per year [mAlsample copy $3" - I

Black Sheep Newsletter2S4SS NW Dixie Mtn. Rd .

Scappoose. OR 970S6e-mall: BSNewsltr@ aol .com

http:/ /member s.ao l.com/jkbsnweb/index .ht ml

S P R [ N G 2 006 1 S P I N· 0 F F I 113

E UI P MEN T E UI P ME NT E UI P MEN T

Guild listingsSOAR

• And MORE!

www.interweave.com

PAT GREEN CARDERS design and make t hehighest quality carding and picking equipment,tabletop to Cottage Industry size. Phone or wr itefor free brochure . Pat Green Carders , Ltd.,48793 Chilliwack Lake Rd., Chilliwack, BC,Canada V4Z IA6. Call to ll-free (877) 898-2273.

SPINNING WHEELS, lessons, fibers, books ,dyes , looms. Shop open by appointment. Cata­log $3. Detta's Spindle, 2592L Oeggen Tina Rd.,Maple Plain , MN 55359. (763) 479-16 12, (877)640 4 1612; www.dettasspindle.com.

TEXTEK TECHNOLOGIES, dedicated to serv­ing fi ber processors. 24 years experience in fi berprocessing. Textek will source, help install , com­mission fiber processing ma chinery then teachyou how to get the best from your investment.New or second-hand machi nery supplied. Ma­chinery designed and bui lt for spec ific opera­t ion . Pickers, carders , dehairer s, pindrafte rs ,spinning, and plying, skein/conewinding. Con ­tact keith@texte k.net; kwildcpcogeco.ca; or cal l(905) 562-9056. www.textek.net.

HOKETT WOULD WORK. Finely crafted metaland Russian styl e support spindles. Exotic hard­wood drop spindles and much more. List on re­ques t. Jim Hokett, PO Box 1899, Magdalena,NM 87825.

•

Visit your spin ning shop

Uniquedesign

includesa base foruse wh ile

plying,resting. &storage.

Fo r hands free plying!

Handy AndyAndean Plying TClQI' '''

The Only All MetalSpinning Wheel

Extra La rge Bobbins

Ea sy to Use

Three Great Colcrs

RU99ed & Dependoble

Dealer InquiresWelcome

colllmbine@ncidola .comSALES ~ SERVICE

Columbine Spinning Products"Build ing Quality Products For Serious Spin ners"

260TimenTwoRoodOl:.onogonWA98840

Phone: S09·42B020fOI: S09·4nlJ2a8www_ncidehHom/ -<oIumbille

Nancy's Knit Knacks8OQ.731-5648

nancy&knitknacks.c:om

New Tool for Spinners

]i:uJeY'j'KM",

FELTING NEEDLES. Round , wood en-k nobhandle fits comfortably in the ha nd-holds 4 or16 needles, easily replaceable, easy to use. Sin­gle needles 2/pkg. $1.75; a-p rong $14.95; 16­prong $24.95. Stony Mountain Fibers , 939Ham mocks Gap Rd., Charlottesville , VA 229 11.(434) 295-2008. MCN ISA, Discover. www.StonyMountainf'ibers.com . (Wholesale inquiries wel­come.]

BIG SALE ON SPINNING WBEELS. looms,and drum carders. See our ad on page 89. Callus for your best deal! Bountiful, Toll-free (877)586+9332; www. bountifuIspinweave.com.

ANTIQ UE S PI NNING WB EELS. Winders ,Swifts , etc. Also unusual spinning whe els. Allexcellent condition and working order. WillowBrook Farm, PO Box 1568, Fort Washington,PA 19034 . (2 15) 643-4499; www.willowbrookfarm.org.

.J

-,

••;nu!lo.( skace l )

~1I11il"

Availab le in 8 lengthsfrom 12" to 60" and in

19 sizes from aUS 000 10 a US 36.

Exclusive DistributorWholesale only

skacel c oll ection , Inc.

Phon e : (425) 291-9600

4752 W. 60th Ave.• Ste. BArvada. CO 80003

Phone (800) 873-1723F" (303) 237-830 1

Yocom-McColI

www.lanicombs.com

/ 1

Ava ilable in fineyarn sh ops.

addi Turbo"Circular Knitting Needles

FAST...ACCURATE

AFFORDABLE. Ymceoll.cO<"

Yocom·M<ColI Testing Laboratories, Inc.540 West Elk Place

Denver, CO 80216-1823 · USAPhone 303-294-0582

Fax 303·295-6944

ADJUSTABLE TRIANGLE LOOMS for shawls,blankets , jackets , and more. Unique . Sim ple.Compl ete instructions. Oak, Map le, Waln ut ,Che rry. Stand and accessories available. In 4

st ruct ional Tr iangle Loom Weaving Video, 90minutes of bas ic and intermediate techniques,$38.95 ppd, new DVD $33.95 ppd. 2' and 3' Trav­el Tri-Looms, Mini stand, and new sturdy trav­el bags also available. Carol Leigh's HillcreekFiber Studio, 7001 Hillcreek Rd., Columbia, MO65203. (800) TRI-WEAV (874-9328), (57:1 ) 874­2233 ; we accept MClVisa , Discover; webs itewww.HillcreekFiberSt udio.com

For Individual Animal.___- -...Fiber DiameterMeasurement

Fine Wool Combs and HacklesInterchangeable HeadsLightweight

L

114 I S P I N . 0 F F I w w W . I N T E R W E A V E . C 0 />l

EVENTS

2006 CENTRAL PLAINS FIBER FESTIVAL,April 21-23, 20IJ6. In the 4·H Build ing at thePhill ips Cou nty Fairgr ou nds, I Jh m iles north ofPhi llipsb u rg, Kansas on Highway 183. Teach­ers: Judy Dittmore, Layna Bentley, Marci Burns,and othe rs. Classes in weaving, sp inning, felt ­ing, Devore' fleece judg ing, etc. Kansas Allianceof Weavers an d Sp in ne rs Ann ual Confere nce(KAWS). Vendors, s heep, a lpaca, llamas . Fo rmore inform at ion contac t Sally Brandon at(785) 638 ·2803 or check out website www.centralp lainsfibe rfest.com.

FUZZY BUNZ FIBERFEST, 21-22 April 2006,Colville , WA. Visit our websit e at http ://fuzzybun zfiberfest.com for informat ion on wo rk­shops, vendo rs , fibe r an ima l exh ibits, fl eeceshow, handspun yarn competition , and our Peo­pie 's Cho ice Piber Arts com pet itio n. E-mailnewfa ir@pixtel.com; (509) 684-2585; PO Box282, Colville, WA 99114.

MN SHEPHERD'S HARVEST SHEEP & WOOLFest ival , Mother's Day weekend: May 13 & 14,2006. Wash ington County Fairgrounds , LakeElmo, MN. Classes , vendors, demonst rat ions,fleece, and breed show. www.shepherdsharvestfestival.

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND TAPESTRY Re·treat. Weave a small tapestry with naturally dyedyarns. July 18-22 or 25-29, 200 7. Acco mmo­dat ions availab le . All levels welcome. www.weaveanis land.co m or call (520) 792-6665.

WISCONSIN SHEEP & WOOL FESTIVAL.Wonders of Wool Fiber Arts Classes. September8-10,2006, Jefferson , Wisconsin . See websitefor classes and Instructo rs. www.wisco nsinsheepandwoo lfestival.com..

Festival and 'Iarket plllr e:Demonstrat ions - Hands on SessionsFleece Competitions - Productions

Fiber Ar ts WorkshopsJune 15- 18

Spinning ' weaving - Dyeing - More

The 23rd Annual

Wool Festival at TaosOctober 7 - B 2006

Kit Carson Park, Taos , NM

Offer ing Workshops Be fore and After

Visit website : www.taoswoolfestiva l.orgOr to request a brochure :

Email:info@taoswoolfe stival .orgCall toll fre e BBB-909-WOOL (9665)Mail: Wool Fe st Taos , S. Correira

2646 FM 1704, Elgin, TX 7B62 1

IIIIIII

FIBERS

A UNIQUE SELECTION of hand-dyed andblended ravings. Beautiful co lorways. wonde r­ful tibers. Kits and patterns, too. www.eweniguefiber.com .

ABSOLUTELY EXCITING COLORS. Ravings,fl eeces , yarns, dyes, and equipmen t. See us atwww.b luegooseg len .com or contact us BlueGooseGlen@att.net; (73 1) 984-7497.

ALPACA FIBER in raw, roving, and yarn. Nat­ural , luxurious colors fro m Missouri's largesthe rd. Roving sa mp ler $5 refu ndable with firs torder, Alpacas always for sale. Whirlwind Ranch,24649 Snowbe rry Drive , Lebanon , MO 65536~

6471. (417) 533~5280; www.whirlwindranch.com.

ALPACA TOP, beautifully processed. Many love­ly co lors including black, grey, and fawn . Rawfleeces and felting fi ber available as well as fi beran im als and qu ality breedi ng stoc k. Vis itwww.glimme rg lassalpacas.com or e-mail deichmanrs'telenet.net . Glimmer Glass Alpacas , 1409Co. Hwy. 26, Fly Creek, NY l:J337 . (607) 54 7·5336.

BEST CORMO COMBED TOP-excepti ona l.Excit ing, dyed ravings. Ready to spin or dye nat­ura l co lored fl eeces , roving. Sam ples $3 wit hSASE. Barb Janay, 12350 Barbee Rd., Brlstow,VA 20136. (703) 36 1-0162. See it on \vww.woolvboolycormos.com.

HoosievHillsl~ibe"a"ls

l~sli~al

Wholesale

Retail

HandcraftedGift Items

HandpaintedYarns

HandpaintedSpinning

Fibers

l)(ue Ridge Si(K W ORKS

www.dyepot.comFree Shipping on Most Orders!

BRSilkworks@adelphia,net540·896·1078

June 3, 20069am - 6pm Rain or Shine

Johnson County Fairgrounds, Frankfin, IN(New location this year!)

Free Admission & ParkingFor more info visit: www.hhfiberfest.com

SundayMay 28

I Oam- 4pm

SaturdayMay 27I Oam- 5pm

Great Lakes Fiber ShowWayne County Fairgrounds

Wooster, Ohio

Sales booths with Fiber-RelatedSupplies and Fiber Ar t s; Workshops &Demonst rat ions; Fleece Show & Sale;

Angora Goat Show; Sheep Sale;Kids Activities; and MORE!

Contact:Linda Reichert, 2474 N. Firestone Rd.Woosler, OH 44691 • (330) 264-9665e-mall:don47Iinda@vaIkyrie.netwww.lambzOWILcom.lGreatLakesFiberShow.htm

ALPACASAND FINISHED

PRODUCTSFOR SALE

For more information calf 530-529-3298

Northern Calilornia and Southern OregonAlpaca Breeders Invite You to Anend

Fiber on the Foot/Celebrating AlpacasSaturday, May 6, 2006 -10 am 10 5 pmSunday, May7, 2006 - 9 am 10 4 pm

Tehama Dislri ct Fa irground - Red Bluff, CA

S P R [ N G 2 0 0 6 I S P I N . 0 F F I 115

F IBERS F IBERS F IBERS

ENGLISH LEICESTER LONGWOOL. $6.50~b.Whole, sk irted fleeces. Sh ipping extra. WillowBrook Farm, PO Box 1568, Fort Washington,PA 19034. (215) 643 ·4499.

FLEECE: LOVELY NATURAL·COLORED gray,brown , black, wh ite, $4/lb. LSASE for sam ples.Georgia w clterbeek, Fairmount Farm, Rindge,NH 0346 1.

CORl\'10, MERI NO, TARGHEE and cros ses .Wh it e and natural-colored. Clean , cove redfleeces $6/ lb and up. Roving , spin n ing batts,100% wool an d blends , $ 1.50/oz. and up.Spinnab le samp les, $2. l\l erry Meadows Farm,24710 Reynclds Hwy.. Will i!s, CA 95490. (707)459~ 9590 ; e-mail walczy kowsk i@willitsonlin e.com.

.p~~} Pygora fi& ..

breeders availablec o ntact o ur w eb si tel

www.pba-pygora.com538 Lamson Rd., Lysandcr. NY 13027

FLEECES, ROVINGS, AND PELTS from Nava­jo Churro, Shetland, Romonov. Lim it ed num ­ber of 2005 ram and ewe lam bs ava ilable. Con­tact \\WW.BrooksideSheepFarm.com; (406) 658­2222.

COOPWORTH FLEECES, LONG LUSTROUS,clean, covered, handsp in ner s kirt ed in ma nycolors. East Coast distributor for Forrester spin­dles , Lendrum wheels. French Hill Farm, POBox 82 , Solon, ME 04979. (207) 643-2540;wwwJ renchhillsheepandwool.co m .

New Zealand FleecesBeautiful , clean, heavily skirted, top qual ity

spinning Heeces, Wh ite and Coloured.Merino - Polworth - Corriedale - Romney

Samples $3, Check, VISA, MasterCardSTUART ALBREY, ARNO RD. 9, WAIMATE N.Z.

S.S.Albrey @xtro.co.nzwww_fffnz.com

CORMO, CALIFORNIA RED AND ~IOHAIR

fleece roving, batts, and yarn in many colors.Apple Rose Fibers, PO Box 216, w rightstown,NJ 08562. www.applerose.com; (609) 752+0596.

CHURRO DINE (NAVAJO) RARE FLEECE.Nonp rofit. Fair Tradin g fro m the Sourc e!".Black Mesa Weavers for Life and Land, Arizona.Adu lt and lambswool, lust ro us whi tes to deepblack, raw to yarn, from $7/lb. PO Box 543 , New­ton, MA 02456. ca rcl rs'blackm esaweave rs.org:www.blackmesaweavers.org; 866-4+C HURRO(866·424·8776).

www.royalehare.com

New Colors!ROYALE HARE HAND-PAINTED

FIBERS AND YARNS

BLACK WELSH I\IOUNTAI N fleece , roving,yarn , tanned pelts, and breeding stock. DesertWeyr, 16870 Carvin Mesa Rd., Paonia, CO 81428.loio at (970) 527-3573; w\vw.dese rtweyr.com .

CHASING RAINBOWS DYEWORKS: Hand­dyed spinning fibers incl ude Bombyx top, 50/50Bombyx/merino, tussah top, 80/20 merino/ten ­eel, 70130 merino/kid, amazing kid mohair locks,and more! Nancy Finn, 1700 Hilltop Dr., Willits,CA 95490. (707) 459·8558.

BLACK COTSWOLD ROVING, co mbed lambtop, 2·ply sport and worsted yarn in natural eel­ors and white. LSASE with $.50 postage for sam­pie/p rices. Nine Oaks Farm, 3045 West B Ave.,Pla inwell , MI 49080. (269) 382·6026; graciecoaccn.org.

Royale Hare, 946 Ladi St., Santa Rosa,CA 95401 . (707) 579-2344.

347 Bedford A~e, arocuyn. NY 1121 1(718)384-8030 www.lhe y.unlree.com--

Natu ra l Fibe rs fo r Fe lti ng & Spinni ng

Org an ic Yarn s f or Knitting & Weav ing

Natu ra l Dyes

Workshops & Cla sse s

Online Shopping for all you r f ibe r needs

Are you looking for...

.----------------------------.The Bell w etherwww.t he be tlwet he r.co m

PO Box 802 * Sequim. WA 98382360-582-0697 ordereathebellwether.com

Do you recognize:Sapphire MountainsA Breed ApartMalachiteDragon's Fire

Spinnable samples of lovely woo l/silk blendscan be enjoye d with a Rhyme Timessubscription $ I I/year US (higher outside US)

Fire Ant RanchSince 1992. at Elgin l X, on the we b

, . at www.fi reantranch.com.andfiber festivals (incl. Estes, Taos).

512-281-4496 Farm Shop Hours by Appt.

Hand-processed. Farm -grown Fibers, Yarns& Goo ds from my Gulf Coast Native Sheep,Black Welsh Mountain Sheep and others.

I carry Roberta Electron ics, Strauch Carde rs,OPAL yarn, Bosworth Spindles and morel

._--------------------------_.

JACOB SHEEPBREEDERS

ASSOCIATION

For a list ofhreeders andfiher available contact:

Lane Harris, SecretaryPO Box 10427, Bozeman, MT 59719

(406) 388-9537www.jsba.org

spottedsheep@yahoo .com'The Maj estic Jaco6Sheep-

51 Special. 'Breed

1161 S P IN ·O F F I WWW .IN TE RWE A V E .C O/>l

FIHI;/{S FIBr:RS FillERS

FR EE CORl\IO WOOL. Inquiries receive 1 oz.tree fleece wool. Fine. long-stap led, handspin­ner skirted. Ravings and brown and black felt­Ing wool available. Henry Ortmann, Box 2106.Wolf Point. ~IT 5920 1. (406) 392-5277.

FR ESIAN S HEEP WOOL for sale. Vermont ­raised. lofty, bouncy, 3 K-4 R staple with sligh tcr im p. Ewe wool by pound. year ling woo l byfl eece . For more information e-mail merinohillfarm@'shoreham.net.

HAPPY S HEE P PRODUCE BEAUTIF ULfleeces. White and natural eolored fine. medi­um, and long wool coated grease fleeces. White,natural colored, dyed mohair. White. naturalcolo red. dyed wool roving a nd mohair/woolblend roving. $3.50 for sam ple. ~loonsShadowFarms, 11252 Kekke Rd.• Chisholm, MN 55719.hJt p:/t horn epage.h i bhi"gm n.co m / - moo nsshadowfarmslindex.htm.

s& z nbuy ' ibee 'farwww.handspuncentral.com

a virtual fiber fair at your fingerti ps.. .~

ICELANDIC FLEECES. ne w co u ntry blendnatural color roving: Icelandic alpaca, mohair,silk, and more. Tongue River Farm, (573) 689 4

2900; \\'\V'w.ice landicsheep.com.

JACOB FLEECES. JSBA registered/Spinner!Weaver's flock. Free samples, price list. Craft'sat Bluffton. 2572 Village Rd.. Decorah. lA 52101.(563) 735-5533.

KARAK UL FLEECE. All colors. raw-washedbatts and roving available. Ecmail or call forprices. Narycarol.buchhclzrsverizon.net: (512)858- 7920 or 15121 46 1-3870.

LlA'lA WOOL, CLEA,,(ED. CARDED RO\'L"(GSready to spin. Seven natural colors from beau­tiful. healthy. happy llamas. For pictures andprices call Wisconsin. Cram's Llama Farm.16081372-2759_

~ P.D.Box 442099~ Lawrence, KS 660447B5-643-5875

I M... NO ...... b l OIIG 'N ... d I www.bonkersfiber.com

Purveyor of luscioushand-dyed spinning fibers & yarn

From my hands to yours . . .Roving Blends, silks, & more!

See my web site fordetailsand monthly sales!

LUXURIOUS ALPACA ROVINGS . m ul­tiple colors. white $10/4 oz.: black. brown, mixes512/4 oz. (plus Sill ). Samples on request. DayStar Alpacas. info@dayslaralpacas.com; 1330}538-2654 10111 _

~IAPLE RID GE S HEEP FAR~1. The olde stflock of Shetlands in the USA. Breeding stock.handspinner fleeces. rovings. yarn, quilt batts.Visit www.mrsf.ccm.

~IOHAIR FR ml A S PINNE R'S FLOCK.Fleeces and roving in white and natural colors.Spring Water Creek Farm. 19325 Dairy Rd.,Spring Grove. ~IN 55974 . (507) 498-3277.

Teq TIme GqtqenTea

Extraordinary black & greenlo o se teas blended w it hsuperior herbs. spices, fruit

& flowers fo r a nat urally de licio us brew.Teapots, cozies & brewing accessories.PO Bo x 34. North Lakewo o d. W A98259 • 360.652.8488 P5T

wwwteat trneqarden.corn

Lld Ed itionSol id Pe\\·te r

SPINNING, WEAVING, KNITTINGClasses & Supplies

Dealer for Louet, Schacht,and Ashford wheels.

Schacht and Leclerc looms.Send 56 for a complete catalog of over500 yarn samples and equipment list.

FIBER LOFT (Bare Hill Studios)9 Mass_Ave. (Rle. 111 )

Harvard, MA 01451(800) 874-YARN (9276)yarn @TheFiberLoli.comwww.TheFibe rLoft .com

Sp inner 'so rnamen t

(actual size 2.25")

Fro-rw OUt" FCU"»1I to-yowFer y01M' fr;werU:", {Lbe.- cuLo$

BearUn Acres Farm (717) 530-3605www.bearlinacres.com

If you're planning a move, don:t f? rget to

take along your ~pi"·0.ff subscription.

Send rour old and new add ress. alongwith the- custo mer number that appe-arson your mailinglabel. to:

Spin·OffPO Box ~69 1 15Escondido, CA 92046-9 115

Pftag "a..w plmry if rrmtfr b "&'\1" re r.rlr tJtat·

Mi nneapoli s area supplier offibc r and classes

for spinners!www.creutivefihers.com

6 I2-927-83075416 Pcnn Avenue S.

Minncapolis. MN 554 19

11 C RD,\TIV F FI P>ERS

SHEEP@WILLOWHAWKFARM .COM

540-822-9143WWW.WILLOWHAWKFARM.COM

Wool, MohairLlama, Blends

Covered Fleeces,Roving, Batts, 11985 Rolling Hills Lane

Yarns Lovettsville, VA 20180

luxuriousFibers

S P R I N G 2 U () e I s P J N . 0 J' F I 117

F IBERS

NAVAJO CHURRO, LINCOLN S HEE P, rawwool and ravi ngs. Com plete lin e of spinning,weaving, dying, and felting supplies. Free cata­log. La Plata Farms, 1281 eR 123, Hesperus,CO 8 1326. (970) 385·4375.

PACO-VICUNA FIBER, hi ghest qua lity, 3shades (beige, golden, brown) $25- $35 per oz.plus shipping. Chr is Switzer, Box 3800, EstesPark, CO 80517.

EARTH GUILDTools, Materials & Books

for Traditional & Contem poraryHandcrafts

33 Haliwood StreetAshevi le , Ne 28801

loll f ree 1-800-327-8448on the web at www.earthguild.com

e-mail usat in form@earth gu ild .com

Complete Mail Order Catalog: $4(free with order over $10)

F IBERS

PERENDALE A.'m CVWROMELDALE fleecesin California. Well-skirted, clean. White and nat­ural co lo red . Breed in g stoc k available. www.p itriverwoo1company.com: martas u Ilivan@cit ilink.net : (530) 336-6202.

POLWARTH FLEECES, WHITE, handspinnerskirted. Send SASE for free sam ples to NancyOrtmann, HC 30 Box 2107, Wolf Point , MT59201. (406) 392-5356.

PUREBRED SHETLANDS, RmlNEY,CROSSES and Corrida le crosses. Fleeces,carded wool and blends. Sam ples $3. CharleneCox, 1779 Hughes Creek Road, Darby, Montana59829 . (406) 349-2588; alt2588@blackfoot.net.

RAW WOOL FROM COVERED, cclo red sheepin Texas. For free samples, orde r ing informa­tion, and availabi lity, call (469) 766·2086. Smallorders welcome.

FIBERS, YARNS, SUPPLIES!Handpa jntcd. dyed and na tural woo ls and blends,

tussah, silklbamboo, 1('11('('1, hem p & others. Dyes,

pat terns, silk pa per supplies & more!

LYNN'S TEXAS FIBERS

GIFTS AND CARDS

KASPAREKS FIBER-THEI\IED art stamps andcards will capture the spirit of your craft. Int ri­ca te origina l des igns for the pas sionate fib erartist. Kaspareks , PO Box 74 8, Ber keley, CA94701 . w\»w.kas pareks .biz.

I NS T R UCTI ON

A PEACEFUL WISCONSIN COUNTRY retreat !Workshops in spinn ing, weaving, basketweav­ing. Complete line of fiber arts equipment. On4line ordering and workshop registratio n. TheFiber Garden, www J ibe rga rde n.co m; BlackRiver Falls, Wisconsin. (715) 284 44590 .

DESERT WEAVING WORKSHOP weaving stu­dio and school. Classes in tapestry, weaving, dye­ing. and feltin g. 512 S. 6'" Ave., Tucson, Arizona.(520) 792~6665; www.des ertweavin g.com.

FLETCHER FARM SCHOOL FOR THE artsand crafts. Extens ive fiber a rts programJu ne- September. Week ends only October-May,Spinn ing, weavi ng, rug braiding and hooking,tatt ing, bobbi n lace , kn itti ng, paper and book­making, wet and dry felting, qui lting, dol lmak­ing, and more. Free catalog. 611 Rte. 103S, Lud­low, VI 05 149. (802) 228·8770; www,fletcherfar m.org; info rafletcherfarm.org.

Welcome towww.OregonWool.corn

Fleeces, rovings, batts,combed top, yam,pelts , and mild, more.

Our 30 farms offer theproducts from theirsheep, fiber goats,alpacas, and angorarabbits. From mohairto pillows, handlotion to ra inbowfleeces. Buy yourfiber right off the farm.

Call &00-997-866 5 or wwwrexasfi her.com

for rrce fi ber samples & catalog.

:\IC, DISC, & VISA accepted.

Ja.n.e :. cl'u,e'r. & J3ead!.oJl~·' A."f. ,O' WE HAVE SUPPLIESK ,)\0%,-, FOR ALL YOURi 4~/"" SPINNING NEEDS. ,

~~y 4"0; ~:ho'ls. Fobo~ _ [}y ••.. ~." Drop Sp4ndIo., Ca""''"','to ~,Gombo. Foll1n9 N_ .. / ~.~ ow ~~

'"~

/ G~.""h''o, U,

VISIT US ON THE WEB 54 15 East Andrew Johnsoowww.janesl iberan dbeads.com Hwy (Greeneville)

e-mail us'j ar>eO janesliberaoobeads.com P.D. Bo x 11 0

4 23·6 3 9 ·79 '9 8 8 8 ·497·2665 Afl on. TN 37616

HILLCREEK FIBER STUDIO. Workshops inspinn ing and natura l dye ing, plus multi -hat­ness, Tria ngle frame loom, and Navajo weaving.Weekend and wee klong. Bed and breakfast.Shuttle availabl e from St. Louis and Kansas Cityairports . Workshop brochure: sen d SASE toCLHFS, 700 1 Hi llcreek Rd. , Columbia , MO65203. (573) 874 ~22 33; www.h illc ree kfibe rst udio.co rn.

N~err~)~§AN ORTHWEST REGIONA L SPIN NER'S ASSOCIATION INe.

Hookedonfelt.com an

JFascination Fiber Gallery & Studio

~.r.' (')b!':. 211 Bannister, Ste. 9A*f:J ~ C~ Plainwell, MI4908012691685-7077

E-mail: info@hookedonfelt.com

The Original Hooked On FeltNeedle Hat Forms, Purse Forms,Needle Felt Tools and Needles.

Shop:www.hookedonfelt.com

The Fiber Studio• Handpainted Fibers • Merino/Silk Roving

• Romney & Merino Rovings & Batts

• Exotic Fibers • Fleeces· Drumcarders

9 Foster HII At, POEbx637-SOI-Ernka", t-J-l 00242 (EID) 428-7KIlQ:en TL.e>-Sa1 104W'MV.fi:Jel sttdo.comsales@libersludio.com

Invites yo u to become a va lued m ember anda vita l link in a spinners network o f co m m u ni­ca tion designed to promote awaren ess of th e

art and cra ft o f handspinn ing and to givespinners the opportunity to share, learn ,

ed ucate. st udy, compete, and coo pera te , Yourmembership avails yo u to te n action packed

newsletters a year, local spin-in meetings,annual co nference, library of reference

materials, and scholarsh ips available to thosewho qual i fy. For more information visit ou r

website at hUp:/ /www.nwrsa.orgor send $ 1.0 0 in stamps to:

NWRSA-Dep t. 503300 166t h Pla ce SWLynnwood. WA 9 8037

e ma il: m embership@nwrs a .org

118 I S P I N . 0 F F I w w W . I N T E R W E A V E . C 0 />l

KIT S

S~IALL FLAX PROCESSING KITS: Great fordemonstrations, gifts. Includ es break, hackle,dr op sp ind le, spind les, see ds , retted fl ax, in­st r uct ions, $30 plus $ 12 V.S. 5tH, (800 ) 836­4520; www.flaxfiber.com.

NATURAL DYES

WILD SILK COCOONS: Peace silk cocoons;Treasures in silk and natural dyes from aroundthe world. Cherui s Ultimate Natural Dyebook,and new natural dye kits. www.aurorasilk.com503-286-4 149.

- '.. r;::; ,. CC:; Q"' ' ''?'-)'' \=;~l • ,'. ' . ' ," '~. , ~, '

Quail Hill Carding Co.P la in W ools - Exotics - Color & Floor B lends

Small Orders Welcome

608·528·4640 or Email: quailh ill@mwt.net11 70 7 Quail Lane - H illsboro WI 54634

Adam's Farm .. , , , , , , , , 108

Alpacadirect.co m " , 100

Ashland Bay Trading Co. ." " ifc

Babe's Fiber Garden " , 94

Baynes Spinning Wheels .. , " 106

Black Sheep Gathering , , , , 102

Blackberry Ridge Woolen Mill, Inc. .. , , 110

Bountiful , , , , , . . . .. 89

Buffalo Hair Project , " 92

Carol Leigh's Hillcreek Fibe r Studio , , , 92

Carolina Homespun , , , 65

Conference of Northern CA Handweavers 10

Coopworth Sheep Society , "..... 89

Copper Moose Produ ctions , , be

Duck Flats Farm , , , 110

Duncan Fiber En terprises " " 112

Estes Park Wool Market .. , , , 106

Eu calan , , , , , 57

Fabulous Fiberfest , " 102

Fantasy Fibers . , , , , , 106

Fiber Trends .. , " , 109

Fleece Fair " , "..... 99

Fold, The 104

Foxglove Piberarts Supply., , , 7-11

Frankenmuth Woolen Mill ., , , 101

SERVICES

CUSTO~I FIBER PROCESSING into roving ,bumps, batts, webs, or handspun yarn. Blend­in g fibers ava ilab le; no o ils used dur ing pro­cessing. Huacaya 1\1000, (563) 542·5000.

Fingerlakes Woolen MillSrewarts Corners Rd.. Genoa, NY 1307 1

Visit us at the following fes tivals this fallNY Sheep & Wool Barn 39H

Fingerlakes Fiber Festiva l Exhibition Hall 4drop off your wool and save shipping costs!

3 15/497- 1542 Fax 3 15/497-9 189www.fi ngerlakes-yarns.com

ADVERTISER 'S INDEX

Fricke Ente rprises , , , 24

Gemin i Fibres , , 102

Golding Ring Spindles " " 33

Green Carders, Pat , , 25

Oreensleeves Spindles , 110

Halcyon Yarn " " "... 94

Heirloom Woven Labels , 94

Heri tage Spinning & Weaving , 92

Howard Brush , , , , , , 23

In ter, eave Press . , , 3, 48,49

John C. Campbell Folk School .. , , 102

Journey Wheel , , , 15

Lambspu n of Colorado , , , .. 97

Lendrum Co" G.. , . , , . , ,. 38- 39

Louet Sales , , 19- 22

Majacraft , , , , " 16-17

Mielke's Fiber Arts, LLC , , 109

Mini-Mills, Ltd , , 94

Misty Moun tain Farm , , , , 89

Morning Sun Fiber Barn , 100

NASSA 97

New Voyager Trading Co. . .. , , , , . .. 5

Ohio Valley Natural Fibers .. , , 105

Ozark Card ing Mill , , , 97

Pacifi c Wool and Fiber , , 79

SERVICES WANTED

ATTENTION SPINNERSl We a re looking forgood sp inne rs to sp in alpaca fibe r at a 50/50sp lit. Call Willow Creek Alpacas, Monday-Fri­day, 8~5, Central Tim e, (800) 323-19 18 , (708 )218-7233.

SUPPLIES

EARTHSONG FIRERS. Natural fibe rs; yarns;dyes; sp inn ing, kn itting, weaving, feltin g sup­p lies . Cat alog $2. 1782 40th Ave ., Dep t. SO,Osceola , WI 54020 (7 15 ) 268-5298; (800) 413­5350; www.earthsongfibers.com.

TRAVEL

APRIL '07 NEW ZEALAND CREATIVE Fi breFestival and tour with NZ spinne r/weave r Rose­mary Burnby. Festival reg istration Novem ber 1,2006. Added travel in the Sou th Pac ific. I\1aryFletcher; PO Box 61228, Denver, CO 80206. Chi~

naMF@comcast.net; (303) 632·9255.

NEW ZEALAND, TARANAKI, NEW PL~IOUTH.

Apr il 12-1 5, 2007. Creat ive Fibre Festival ,Mountai n to Sea - Ce leb ra t ing Diversity. Pro­gram includes Exhi b ition , Fash ion Parade, Ed­ucation. Trades and Tours. Contact Janet Hains­worth; j .hainsworthcoxtra.co.nz.

Paradise Fibers , , , , , . 97

Peace of Yarn , 53

R. H. Lindsay , , , , , , ,100

Rovings .. , , , , , ,. 14

Schacht Spindle Co. ln c , 28-29

Shu ttles, Spindles, Skein , , , , ,106

Sky Island Fleece , , ..109

SOAR 88

Spinning Web; Website List ings , ". 52

Stonehedge Fiber Mill , " .109

Stonehill Spinn ing Ltd , , 110

Stop to Shop Listin gs . , , , , 78

Strauch Fiber Equipmen t Co , , 13

Susan's Fiber Shop , , , .. ibc

Treenway Silks , 12, 110

Viking Combs , , , , , , ,110

Weaving Works , , , , , .100

Winsome Timbers , , , . 43

Woodland Woolworks , , , , . 71

Woolee Winder, The , ,.. 3

Woolery, The . , .. , , , .. , 83

Yarn Barn , " " ". 92

Zeilinger Wool Co.. " , " .107

S P R [ N G 2 0 0 6 I S P I N· 0 F F I 119

HAVE TO ADMIT that

whe n I fir st opened

the box of my newest

fiber t rade acquisit ion-two

pounds of whi te and one

pound of black Navajo

Chu rro roving- my heart

sank, and I instantly aban-

doned my dreams of using

the roving in the ru g I planned to locker

hook. I had expected someth ing st rong,

but the fibers looked positively ironclad !

The loosely roll ed balls of roving seemed

too coarse for the durabl e but soft bed­

side rug I had envisione d. In fact, at first

glance the fiber looked very much like

the hay I feed my Angora rabbit. I even

cons ide red feeding the coarse roving to

Cocoa Puff thinking that she would have

a much better chance of avoiding woo l

block if she learned to eat this fib er

instead of hay. I told myself, "I'd eat my

hat before I'd use this fi ber for anyth ing

important."

Then I looked close r. The white

roving, though coarse and hairy, had a

sprinkling of cocoa cola red, sing le fibers

all through it. It was not enough to

change the gene ral calor from whi te but

was a very lovely surprise addition. When

I picked it up , I realized that the

rovin g was light and airy

and drafted with no

effort a t all , and

then someth ing

inexplicable

happened-I

started to feel

the pull of my

spinn ing wheel, a

soft beck oning to

just sit and sp in a little

of the sturdy wool. "For the

experience of it ," the wheel sug-

gested. "All right , just a littl e and only

to add it to my m ental list of fibers

co nque red," I gru mped to myself, full y

prepared to keep note of all the reaso ns

I didn't th ink this fib er usabl e for

anything except an imal roughage.

Using my biggest whorl, I spun a

worsted-weight, sem i-woolen singles. As

the

Overcomingprejudices

B Y A N G EL A

B UT ER A DI CK S O N

\.•

~,~-

0" 1//11--<

-

J

the roving flew ou t of my hands

and onto my bobbin, it twisted into a soft

and airy yarn with wonderfu l textu re­

and the sp rinkling of cocoa fibers

charmed me from the first yard. As the

coa rse, kem py fibers mixed into the fine,

slightly crimpy ones, the yarn seemed to

fin d its own voice, too . It begged to be

made up into the

durable, wa rm outer

clothing pe rfect for our

Maine winters.An hour later I had

one full bobbin and an­

other bobbin halfway

there. If I had been wear­

ing a hat, I'd have been

forced to choke it down-to the last piece

of felted fuzz.

While I spu n my m ind buzzed wit h

the possi biliti es of this st ro ng an d

appealing fiber, "A chunky vest, dip-dyed

into varying shades of the same calor,"

the soft whi rring of the wheel seeme d to

say. "Leg gaite rs to keep the snow out of

Ben's pan t legs this winte r," it purred .

"Mittens with ext ra-long gaun tle ts, to

keep Alayna's small hands warm while

she insists on smooth ing the last bump

from her snowman," the wheel promised.

As I sat and spun the fiber, I realized

that a challenge had been issued. I need­

ed to look beyond my assumpt ions and

first impressions and to see the fiber

for what it was-a tool m eant to

kindle my creativ ity. I had fir st

seen the qualities of the fiber as a

collection of glaring flaws, rather

than recognizing that the beau­

ty, personality, and individuality

of Navajo Ch urro fiber was as

inheren t as its st rength.

My three pounds of roving quickly

found itself twisted into gorgeous

yarn, and my knitting fever began

in earnest. Bu t st ill my spinning

wheel whispe rs to me . . .

"Buy mo re Navajo Churro roving,

and we will explore more possibilit ies,"

it says.

"Soon," I whisper back. . . .

ANGELA BUTERA DICKSON is an award-winning

novelist and textile artist who lives in southern

Maine with her husband, Bob, their two home­schooled children, and a bullmastiffnamed "I

Love Lucy. "You can write to her atangela@angeladickson.com.

120 I S PI N . 0 F F I w w W . I N T E R W E A V E . C 0 />l

MENTION THIS AD AND RECEIVE FREE SHIPPING!

Great Buys are BI.OOMINGat SUSHEADQUARTERS FOR THE FIBER ARTIST

'SISPRING INTO SAVINGS WITH THESE SPECIALS! FIBER & GADGETS"""

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Silk Rber Hankies $4/oz.Soy Silk & Wool $30/8oz.[t;ues &g-eens. yeIows &ooes ues &pinksCl v.rhilej

19 Micron Merino $30/lb.WPITool $10McMorran Yam Balance $24.95Katie-A-Go-Go $45Exotica Soy, Merino,Silk & Cashmere $8/oz.Fawn Cornedale $12/lb.

ForsythCombs V'/

$115

NEW PRODUCTS"""

Louet W30Table Loom

$575 '-- ....:.......J

EnglISh 5 Prtch Combs $125

r----- - ....,.., Louet JuniorRoving Carder$399

Krcmski PreludeSpinning WheelClear, Walnut or

Mahogany Finish $342Unfinished

$289

Louet 815 $359

Ashford Traditional $435Ashford KiIM $285Majacraft UtIle Gem $580Louet S10 Single Treadle $445Louet S10 Double Treadle $530

Marg Electric $949

Schacht MatchlessSpinning WheelSingle Treadle $790

----I Double Treadle $805

Ashford TravellerLaqueredDouble Treadle

~$465

Ashford JoyDoubleTreadle

~ $550

AshfordCountrySpinner

,=;:=~ $475

Lou~tS-1 7

;=;~~ $295Schacht-Reeves AshDouble Jreadle Saxony24" $880-$1250

:=;;:=~30" $1080-$1500

LendrumDouble TreadleWheel

:=~:::: $565